The camp of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is facing an uphill battle as the trial entered its second day.

The presiding judge has already issued several rulings that might force the defense to rethink its strategy.

Defense lawyers began the second day of trial by complaining to Judge George O'toole that the survivor's testimonies given the previous day were too gruesome and must be limited.

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Defense Attorney David Bruck pointed out that the victim-impact testimonies must be presented at the sentencing phase of the trial.

But the prosecutors were quick to rebut the defense, saying what they presented were not victim-impact testimonies but were simply a detailed account of what happened that day.

The prosecution immediately scored as Judge O'toole ruled not to limit the testimonies of the survivors.

However, even before the opening statements were given on the first day of trial, O'Toole made a ruling that could force Tsarnaev's lawyers to overhaul its defense strategy.

O'Toole ruled that in the guilt phase of the trial, he would limit discussions on whether the accused Tsarnaev is more or less culpable than his brother Tamerlan. 

Tamerlan was killed in a manhunt following the bombing.

This ruling may prevent the defense team to prove that Tsarnaev was only pressured by his brother to commit the crime - the only argument it is pinning their hopes to at least spare Tsarnaev from death penalty.

Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University in Boston, said O'Toole's ruling restricting the defense to argue that Tsarnaev was merely pressured by his brother and that Tamerlan was primarily responsible for the crime, came unexpected.

Medwed said this could be an early indication that O'Toole may issue more rulings that can leave the defense flat-footed. 

Medwed added that if O'Toole would continue to deny the defense the opportunity to prove its argument in the guilt phase, then they may have to change its strategy.

During the opening statements, the defense team led by Attorney Judy Clarke, surprised the court by admitting her client committed the crime. 

But they also vowed to prove that Tsarnaev was only influenced by his brother to participate in the bombing.

"We do not and will not at any point in this case sidestep or attempt to sidestep Dzhokhar's responsibility for his actions," Clarke said during her opening statement.

The last two trial days were spent on survivors' emotional testimonies as part of the first phase that will deal with Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence on the 3 charges he is facing.  

The second phase will determine whether Tsarnaev will be sentenced to death or life in prison.

TagsBoston Marathon bombing, trial, tsarnaev