Jodi Arias Files Lawsuit Against Attorney Kirk Nirmi

Radar Online is reporting that boyfriend annihilator Jodi Arias is filing a lawsuit against the attorney who represented her in the murder trial that made her a household name.  Nurmi tried numerous times to withdraw as her attorney, however Judge Stephens would not allow him to as the time and money it would have taken to get another attorney up to speed was astronomical.  In addition, Arias petitioned the court to have Nurmi remain on her team as she believed he knew her case better than anybody.  She is now suing him claiming he had "utter hatred for her".

Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi had the impossible task of trying to defend Jodi Arias against a prosecutor who had an enormous mountain of direct and circumstantial evidence against her.  They had to get creative on their defense, so why not call Jodi a battered woman?  That's a popular defense when there are no witnesses to the physical abuse and no police reports.  Why?  Because there are countless law enforcement officials and shrinks who will tell a jury that most victims never report their abuse because they fear the abuse will get worse.

This trial was the reason I started writing this blog. The case fascinated me.  It was fairly obvious that Mr. Nurmi didn't care for his client and Willmott had a better rapport with Jodi Arias.  But Nurmi did the best he could, consider he was being forced to represent someone he didn't particularly want to be in the same room with.  There have been rumors (via Kirk Nurmi himself) that Arias acted "inappropriately" with him and flirted with him.  Jodi however claims in her suit that Nurmi "had an unprofessional and prurient preoccupation with the sexual nature of the case, as well as the Plaintiff herself".  Oh yes, everyone WANTS you Jodi ("no jury will convict me - mark my words....." Jodi Arias)

Kirk Nurmi denies all of Arias' claims and looks forward to defending each and every allegation in a court of law.  Arias is probably also peeved at the title of Kirk Nurmi's book about the trial - "Trapped with Ms. Arias" doesn't make her sound like a plaintiff he was enamoured with!!  

Arias' defense team may have made a fortune defending her, but it clearly took a toll on Kirk Nurmi.  He was disbarred after releasing his book - he never fought it.  He reportedly wanted to be disconnected from Jodi Arias, and knew he never would be as long as he practiced law.  He was diagnosed with cancer after the trial - something he believes is connected to the experience he had defending someone like Jodi Arias.  This explains why he lost so much weight.

Arias' suit claims that Nurmi exposed confidential and privileged information for the express purpose of financial gain.  She may have some valid points - we all knew we hadn't heard the last of Jodi Arias!