As we await
the mid-September court date in the never ending Jodi Arias penalty phase
retrial, I have a few common sense suggestions to get this train wreck of a
trial back on the rails. There are
several outstanding motions put forth by Arias’ defense duo – these motions are
not new to the public, and therefore they certainly have been on the table for
Judge Sherry Stephens to ponder since the August 5th deadline she
gave both sides to file such motions.
What I don’t understand is why these motions were not being considered
between the deadline filing date of August 5th and the status
hearing on August 26th. I
know judges are busy people, juggling multiple trial dates along with their
many other responsibilities but come on…..I started this blog because I was
shocked and outraged about this case and what happened to Travis Alexander –
the photos, the lies, the stolen gun, the ex boyfriends, the stalking, the sex
tape and the Cancun trip made this a story that caught the attention of the
media and the public. My family and
friends were not as interested in discussing the trial as I was, and I needed
an outlet to seek other like minded people.
I was surprised at how many people felt the same way and returned to
this blog and let their thoughts and insights.
After
viewing the trial and the revolting trial strategy of Jodi Arias and her
defense duo, and the subsequent non-verdict at sentencing, coupled with the
newest series of delays has turned this blog into my own personal venting
page. I apologize for that! Like most people out there, I just want to
see resolution to this trial in my lifetime!
I have some simple common sense suggestions to Judge Stephens in regards
to these outstanding motions – compromises, if you will. These solutions would seem to be neutral to
both sides and not greatly affect the outcome of the retrial. Arias has already been convicted of first
degree murder, half the battle has been fought and won. All that’s left to decide is whether a jury
believes Arias’ life should be spared or if she deserves the ultimate
punishment. A new jury will write the
last chapter of this sad story.
On the motions: Change of Venue – Nurmi and Willmott have
argued that due to the media saturation in the Maricopa County area, finding an
impartial jury that hasn’t been exposed to extensive news coverage and/or
already formed an opinion is unlikely.
Let’s face it, although the media may have been present at the trial
venue, the trial was covered on a national level – people all across the good
old U S of A know who Jodi Arias is. She’s
made sure of that, calling her own press conferences immediately following her
conviction and after her arrest – her constant “tweets” and online art auctions
all have aided Arias in keeping the spotlight directly on her. She shares the blame for the media coverage,
as she seems to be thriving in her new found convict status. My compromise idea is to hold the retrial in
Maricopa County, but choose the new jury from another jurisdiction and bus
those jurors in to the Superior Court Building for the trial. They successfully did this in the Casey
Anthony case. I believe the citizens of
Maricopa County deserve to see this trial finished in their county. So choose the jury from another county,
transport them to and from the trial.
Sequester
The Jury: The defense wanted jury #1 to
be sequestered, but that motion was denied by Judge Stephens, who felt it was
an unnecessary cost and burden to the jurors during what was sure to be a
lengthy trial. Potential jurors may be
less inclined to want to serve on a jury if it meant being away from their
families for 5 months straight. You can’t
blame them. I think sequestering jury #2
would be a good idea, erring on the side of caution and in the interest of
getting this trial moving along.
Sequestering a jury is a burden to the jurors, but it is a good way to
put to rest the defense’s concerns about jurors seeing outside news about the
trial. At this point, cost shouldn’t be
an issue for the state. I say sequester
them, provide them with movies and other activities to make their time less
mundane since they will not have access to regular television or newspapers and
limited access to their family and friends.
It’s a small price to pay to fulfill such a vital civic duty. Sequestering the jury does not help or hinder
the prosecution or the defense. It levels the playing field, just do it!
Defense
Wants Jurors To Disclose Twitter Account Information/Social Media – The motion
specifically mentions Twitter (alone) to the best of my knowledge. The judge’s admonishment covers ALL media,
however it appears one of the alternate jurors may have been busted for an
exchange with media during the trial.
But the judge and the defense needs to acknowledge that Jodi Arias
herself attempted to influence the public by her tweets, facilitated by friends
on the outside during her own trial. She’s
guilty of discussing the trial more than any juror or alternate. What’s good for the goose is good for the
gander.
The defense
wants individualized voir dire of jurors – I don’t see a problem with this
motion either. It actually helps the
prosecutor as well as the defense. We
want to ensure this jury is REALLY DEATH QUALIFIED and we want to know they
would be willing and able to hand down a death sentence regardless of their
personal belief system relating to capital punishment. This is perhaps the most difficult part of
the process. During group voir dire,
potential jurors may be afraid or unwilling to be 100% honest on their personal
beliefs, wherein if they were questioned in the judges chambers outside of the
earshot of other potential jurors they may be more willing to be completely
honest in vocalizing their beliefs either way.
We’ve heard so much about how difficult some jurors found it to give
Arias the death penalty, as if they would somehow be responsible for her
death. This simply isn’t the case. If sentenced to death, the blame falls
squarely on Jodi Arias herself. Not her
attorneys, not the media, not the “haters”, not the Alexander family, not
Travis Alexander – and not even her wooden-spoon yielding mother!! This jury needs to understand the law and how
to apply it by weighing the aggravating factors against any mitigating factors.
It can be as simple as that. The jury
needs to not feel responsibility for “killing” anybody. They are applying the law.
Those are my
suggestions of the motions I’m aware of, in a nutshell. These are all common sense compromise-based
solutions to the issues Judge Stephens is facing going into the retrial. My hope is that in that next mid-September
status hearing, she will have decided to rule on these motions and is ready to
set a date for the jury selection process.
No more extensions, this should be it.
A jury found Jodi Arias guilty on May 8, 2013, nearly 4 months ago! Initially, she wanted to start jury selection
in July, and the defense team had scheduling conflicts and have been seeking to
delay it into 2014 ever since. Please,
please, please Judge Stephens – don’t let this happen. This isn’t a new case, these aren’t new
issues and the state has been ready since May 9th. Let’s get this train back on the track and go
full steam ahead to Justicetown (did I really say that??). I’m getting a little corny, a sign that I
should end this entry. I hope you have
all had a great Labor Day weekend, and I hope to see your comments and thoughts
on these suggestions. Until next time……
