Federal prosecutors who won the convictions of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two deputies on racketeering, conspiracy, and mail fraud charges are urging a judge to dismiss motions by defense lawyers seeking acquittals or a new trial, derisively calling the motions the “same old and tired arguments” the defense lawyers brought up during the trial.

“The defendants’ briefs contain the same old and tired arguments that they have unsuccessfully made throughout the litigation in this case,” Assistant US Attorney Karin Bell said in a response to the defense motions. “While the tenor of these arguments may have been appropriate during pre-trial litigation and during the trial of this matter, they now lack force and vitality in the face of the jury’s verdict.”

O’Brien and his former aides Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke III were found guilty in July after a two-month trial in US District Court that reverberated on Beacon Hill after prosecutors labeled House Speaker Robert DeLeo and other lawmakers unindicted co-conspirators.

Prosecutors also responded to concerns raised by the defense attorneys about Judge William Young’s decision to allow jurors to ask questions of witnesses during the trial. Jurors submitted more than 280 questions to Young to pose to witnesses, an exercise the defense attorneys say turned the jurors into “mini G-Men and Women.”

But prosecutors said Young was well within his power to allow the questioning, noting that 11 US Circuit Appeals courts have upheld the practice and the American Bar Association has endorsed it, especially in complex cases such as conspiracy.

It is unclear when Young will rule on the defense motions, but O’Brien, Tavares, and Burke are scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 12. The three are also facing the possibility of a second trial after Young severed bribery charges from the original indictment, but prosecutors have indicated they will not pursue those charges if the sentences handed down are in line with what they expect, including prison time.