Boston ( CNN ) -- Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be allowed to view autopsy photos of the attack 's victims and meet with his sister without being watched by the FBI , a federal judge said Wednesday . Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge George O'Toole to keep Tsarnaev `` from personally reviewing autopsy photographs of victims '' other than those the government plans to use at his trial , set for November . Letting him see the rest `` would violate the victims ' rights to dignity and privacy and subject them to needless harm and suffering , '' they wrote . The photos are already covered by a protective order in the case . Also , the government 's request did n't apply to Tsarnaev 's lawyers , who have had access to the pictures . But defense attorneys refused to accept any restrictions , calling the request unprecedented and unwarranted , and O'Toole agreed . Tsarnaev , now 20 , is accused of planting the bombs at the finish line of the 2013 race along with his brother Tamerlan , who was killed during the manhunt that paralyzed Boston . The city marked the anniversary of the attacks on Tuesday , pausing to remember the three people who died and more than 200 who were wounded , many of whom lost limbs . The trial is set for early November , with the government seeking the death penalty . Defense lawyers are expected to argue Tsarnaev was under the `` domination and control '' of his brother . Tsarnaev was not in court for Wednesday 's proceedings . O'Toole also said meetings between Tsarnaev and his sister should n't be subject to monitoring by investigators , though he held off on issuing a final order on the matter . Tsarnaev lawyer David Bruck argued that letting federal agents monitor their conversation would intrude on the defense . `` The decision to take the most casual remarks , an ironic comment , and provide it to the prosecution ... becomes ammunition on the death penalty , '' Bruck said . If the charges against Tsarnaev are true , he said , `` This is about a family , '' and lawyers should be allowed to observe the relationship between the siblings without interference . Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini argued that defense lawyers were trying to combine a legal visit with a social one . O'Toole said he did n't think there was a security issue involved and he was inclined to grant the defense request , but did n't issue a formal ruling . CNN 's Ronni Berke reported from Boston ; Matt Smith reported and wrote from Atlanta .
Prosecutors want to keep Sergei Tsarnaev from the autopsy photos . Letting the murder suspect see them would cause ` ` needless harm and death , '' they argue . Defense lawyers call those arguments unwarranted , and a jury agrees .