The trial for the Boston Marathon bombing has been postponed for two months as the federal judge handling the case refused to change its venue following the defense's motion to have it moved from Boston.

U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. released orders to postpone the trial for suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's case on Wednesday, but denied his lawyers' request to move the first bout between the defense and prosecution panel to Washington, D.C.

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The court proceedings, which were originally set to begin on Nov. 3, have been re-set to begin on Jan. 5 after the defense moved for the delay because they needed more time to review evidence and talk to potential witnesses.

Tsarnaev's lawyers cited the possibility that the extensive media coverage might have incited public opinion, which may hinder a fair trial for their client. They cited the case of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh whose trial had to be moved to Denver due to the case's huge emotional impact on the community.

However, Judge O'Toole believed otherwise. He noted that there is not enough cause to assume that there could not be a fair jury selected in the area.

"Although media coverage in this case has been extensive, at this stage the defendant has failed to show that it has so inflamed and pervasively prejudiced the pool that a fair and impartial jury cannot be empaneled in this District,", Judge O'Toole's decision stated.

Over 260 individuals were wounded while three were killed during the explosion that involved two pressure cooker bombs hidden inside a backpack left near the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon more than a year ago.

The 21-year-old suspect, who might face the death penalty if convicted, had submitted a not-guilty plea for all 30 federal charges filed against him.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys had agreed to come up with at least 2,000 potential members of the jury for the case after filing over 100 pages of legal briefs about the trial's postponement.

TagsBoston, Boston Marathon, bombing, trial