Judge won't dismiss case against student charged in bomb scare

BOSTON—A judge refused Friday to dismiss a charge against an MIT student who created a bomb scare at Logan International Airport by wearing a blinking circuit board attached to her shirt.

Star Simpson, a 19-year-old electrical engineering and computer science student, was held at gunpoint and arrested by state troopers in September after airport security personnel became alarmed by the battery-powered device on her shirt.

Simpson's lawyer, Thomas Dwyer Jr., asked a judge last month to throw out a charge of possessing a hoax device, arguing that state law does not clearly define what a hoax device is. Dwyer also said Simpson had a First Amendment right to express herself by wearing the shirt.

But East Boston District Court judge Paul Mahoney refused to dismiss the charge Friday and set a May 23 trial date. The judge also merged the constitutional question with the criminal issue, Dwyer said.

Simpson of Lahaina, Hawaii, will likely testify in her own defense, Dwyer said.

"There is no evidence of criminal intent," he said. "We're fairly confident of what the outcome will be."

Simpson did not talk in court or to reporters after the hearing.