Jodi Arias Legal Question and Answer Thread *no discussion*

[swan366]

Is it unusual for JA to give interviews at the Estrella jail? Is there anything stopping every other inmate at the jail from giving interviews, more or less "at will" and with very little notice? Is Sheriff Arapaio legally obligated to give approval to every interview request by every inmate?

 

[Darkhorse]

Why did Juan not use her interview from directly after the verdict?

Was it strategy or was he restricted somehow from doing so?

What level will she be in if sentenced to life? Will she be in maximum?

Thank you for our time, AZ! I try to read most questions and answers.

 

[gcharlie]

TIA to all the lawyers who have helped us understand things here from a legal perspective.

I've got two questions.

Firstly, yesterday morning started off with almost 2 hours of meetings in chambers and court observers were tweeting like crazy, especially when DT counsel left the courtroom for more than 10 minutes (tweets below). Any buzz from the legal community in terms of best guess for what was happening?

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Valerie just called the defense team back into chambers. Mike B. is there waiting. Jodi is in all black, she goes back as well. 9:41 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Also, Juan, Flores and Steven and Samantha head back into chambers as well. 9:42 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial DP Mitigation Specialist just took #JodiArias' mother out side of the courtroom. Interesting. 9:43 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial DP Mitigation Specialist and #JodiArias' mother just came back in. Errone else is in chambers sippin dom and listening to Manilow I assume? 9:48 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Prosecution and two Travis' sisters just came out. Flores and Juan went into side room by me. He was moving fast. 10:05 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Juan and Samantha just came out of side room. Juan is talking to both sisters. 10:08 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Juan and Flores are seated. SIsters didn't look upset to me from what others seem to be saying. Defense and #JodiArias are still in chambers 10:10 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Mike B. and #JodiArias just came out of chambers. She is speaking with DP Mitigation Specialist now. 10:33 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Deputy just took #JodiArias into the side room. :::yawwnnn::: 10:34 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial #JodiArias father just left the courtroom. Jodi didn't look happy or sad, just complacent as she went by. Nurmi just returned. 10:35 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Mike B placed a paper on the attorneys desk. Nurmi read it, handed it to WIllmott then he left the courtroom. Didn't look happy. 10:36 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Willmott took the paper, grabbed her maroon/salmon bag and also left the courtroom. Can someone please just tell me what's up? 10:36 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Valerie just handed a stack of papers to each attorney table. Possible jury instructions? 10:40 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Multiple sherrif deputies just came in and talked to Valerie and left. 10:41 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Two official looking sheriff type guys just went into the side room where #JodiArias is held. Very suspenseful in here! SUP?!?!? 10:43 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial #JodiArias' mother just left out the back of the courtroom. I don't see any more of her family in the front row now. 10:44 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial It's so quiet in here you can hear a chicken wing move from nurmi and he left the courtroom mintues ago.

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Defense team just came back into the courtroom. 10:47 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Nurmi just bolted out the courtroom, he has the stride length of OJ Simpson. 10:50 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial #JodiArias just came back into the courtroom. We are all present now. Judge is here, waiting for Jury. 10:51 AM - 21 May 13

Secondly, I was most disturbed when JA's allocution included several new prevarications which could have easily been dis-proven. For instance, she told the jury "100% of proceeds" from her Survivor T's would be going to support DV. Her representations outside of court are that profits, not proceeds, would be donated. Big difference. She also said that it was never her intent to malign Travis in court, but her plea motion clearly indicates otherwise. So my question is why was she allowed to include these misrepresentations in her allocution, or could Martinez have challenged them if he so chose?

 

[AZlawyer]

Bringing Steelys question over here-"BTW, can one of our lawyers tell me why she was allowed to say her friend was too afraid to testify on her behalf?"

Because the rules of evidence largely do not apply to the defendant's allocution (or to the entire mitigation phase).

Will media interviews on death row be allowed if a death verdict is rendered?

As far as TV interviews, it's up to the Dept. of Corrections, but I strongly suspect they would consider a TV interview to be a security risk. She could conduct written interviews, because that's a free speech issue.

This is my questions as well... when (if ever) will she lose the ability to hold these media interviews? I mean she is technically a convicted murderer and yet she's planning her interviews, asking for hairstylists and make up artists!! (good grief) - I also know that occasionally even mass murderers give selective interviews but these seem very rare. Will she be limited in her ability to be on the news? Who will make these decisions and will it be different if she gets the DP as opposed to LWOP? Thanks in advance!

The answer would be no different if she gets LWOP.

 

[AZlawyer]

So watching the final close by Arias and Wilmott came to some conclusions and found out some facts. Wondering what AZ and others thought--

1. Arias could have easily saved her life based on four things:

A. Showed remorse---(she just couldn't do it).
B. Not relitigated and brought up domestic violence. (Couldn't help herself and blames the victim again.)
C. Brought up the 'Survivor' T-Shirt (Wrong on many levels).
D. Not brought up the intimidation of Womack (Jury already sees Arias as a liar)

Other things:
A. HLN checked and said she could NOT start a book club in prison.
B. It is possible to use her hair for charity.
C. The comment about her father crying was her strongest piece of evidence.

Wilmott was HORRIBLE:

A. This is not time to relitigate and talk abuse---try to get some compassion for your client via mental illness or family.
B. Don't throw the family under the bus when Arias is using the family and her father to keep her alive. (Weird that Wilmott did not think on her feet and adjust).
C. Wilmott almost seemed combative and agitiated and the 11-objections didn't help--all designed for appeal, but it looked silly.

JURY:

This decision is coming down to the Jury and their personal views about Death Penalty---and if they do give her life, it isn't because of Arias or Wilmott did anything to save her but quite the opposite--they either don't believe in killing someone, or they feel sorry for Arias (mental illness), or they feel sorry for Arias because Wilmott seemed incompetent and was arguing against the family.

AZ---your thoughts?

I don't think she could "easily" have saved her life by doing/not doing the things you mentioned--I think the jury is strongly against her at this point and would not have been swayed by much--but I agree that the statement she gave was full of more of those "bad choices" she pretends are in her past.

Jennifer IMO was resigned to the fact that nothing she could say would make any difference at this point. It's pretty tough to give an effective argument if you have mentally "checked out" from the proceeding. I agree that the presentation was disconnected from Arias's statement and fell flat.

 

[AZlawyer]

Attorneys, please help, re: Appeals:

Is it just me or what, because I"m confused as to how an appeals board can possibly know the breadth of a case that was 5 months long? I mean, the jurors have been there day in and day out, they have seen Jodi up close and looked at her and listened to her. So IMO you're right, it would have to be some legal technicality, but even then how can they know the context? For example, if Jodi tries to say the witnesses were threatened....how can the appeals board know Jodi's manipulative ways, and that it could have been Jodi orchestrating these supposed death threats with her "friend" felon Donovan? I'm not understanding how an appeals board can get all of that information? I guess I should ask on the lawyer thread (here). And as for "ineffective counsel," I mean, is it really ineffective if they're forced to do what Jodi says, and what Jodi says is stupid and dumb? How is that ineffective counsel and how would the appeals board know that context?

The appellate courts can't know anything that isn't on the record, and the parties are not permitted to bring up new evidence on appeal. So whatever evidence of "threats" was actually presented in court is what the appellate courts will review (assuming the threats are relevant to some issue on appeal), and nothing more.

As for ineffective assistance of counsel, if Jodi asked them to do something that was inconsistent with effective assistance of counsel, they would probably have asked to withdraw--and since they asked to withdraw several times, this information may have been presented (albeit vaguely) in any of the numerous sealed, ex parte hearings we have seen in this case.

Also, the appellate courts will assume, wherever possible, that decisions of counsel were strategic rather than stupid.

 

[Jax49]

Secondly, I was most disturbed when JA's allocution included several new prevarications which could have easily been dis-proven. For instance, she told the jury "100% of proceeds" from her Survivor T's would be going to support DV. Her representations outside of court are that profits, not proceeds, would be donated. Big difference. She also said that it was never her intent to malign Travis in court, but her plea motion clearly indicates otherwise. So my question is why was she allowed to include these misrepresentations in her allocution, or could Martinez have challenged them if he so chose?

SBM

Not even 100% of the profits are donated.

Quote: A portion of the profits generated from the sales.....

 

[AZlawyer]

Is it unusual for JA to give interviews at the Estrella jail? Is there anything stopping every other inmate at the jail from giving interviews, more or less "at will" and with very little notice? Is Sheriff Arapaio legally obligated to give approval to every interview request by every inmate?

No, he's not obligated to allow TV interviews, but he generally gives the media whatever they want so they will like him---as long as whatever they want doesn't conflict with his own interests. The media, of course, is not interested in interviewing every inmate at Estrella.

Why did Juan not use her interview from directly after the verdict?

Was it strategy or was he restricted somehow from doing so?

What level will she be in if sentenced to life? Will she be in maximum?

Thank you for our time, AZ! I try to read most questions and answers.

He can't just "use an interview"--he would have to use whatever portion(s) of the interview were relevant to an issue in the penalty phase. So the answer might be different for every sentence she said. For the most part, though, what I heard from WS'ers was that they thought the interview showed a lack of remorse, which JM would not have been permitted to prove because (1) lack of remorse is not on the list of aggravating factors, and (2) he couldn't say it was rebuttal to mitigation evidence, because Jodi never claimed any remorse.

 

[DollyPardonMe]

I'm sorry, you've probably answered this 1000 times but if the jury comes up with the DP then its over right (until appeal) but if they come up with Life do they say LWOP or will that be up to the judge and will that decision be immediate?

 

[GetToTheTruthNow]

I don't think she could "easily" have saved her life by doing/not doing the things you mentioned--I think the jury is strongly against her at this point and would not have been swayed by much--but I agree that the statement she gave was full of more of those "bad choices" she pretends are in her past.

Jennifer IMO was resigned to the fact that nothing she could say would make any difference at this point. It's pretty tough to give an effective argument if you have mentally "checked out" from the proceeding. I agree that the presentation was disconnected from Arias's statement and fell flat.

Well maybe not easily, but perhaps it wouldn't have been difficult. Hear me out-- I was going off what the HLN panel has said in that the Jurors can be against you and find you guilty of a crime---but when it comes down to killing someone, it comes down to their personal opinion on the death penalty as opposed to feelings about Jodi ---unless she really screws it up (which I thought she did). In others words if she had some left out a few things--added a few things, they would say, 'yeah, we hate you, your a liar--but we will let you live'. She didn't even give them that. Had she left out domestic violence and Womack---given a heartfelt apology, told the jury she lied about Travis to get off, maybe they would have thrown her a bone.

Incomprehensible to me how Wilmott could check out upon the most important part of the proceedings---trying to save someone's life. Just because the verdict went against you--you can't pout. The mental illness angle was valid, the domestic violence angle was a horrible way to go, and attacking the family---ugh. Martinez thinks on his feet far better than Wilmott or Nurmi. Overall though, I think we agree, something was off.

 

[AZlawyer]

TIA to all the lawyers who have helped us understand things here from a legal perspective.

I've got two questions.

Firstly, yesterday morning started off with almost 2 hours of meetings in chambers and court observers were tweeting like crazy, especially when DT counsel left the courtroom for more than 10 minutes (tweets below). Any buzz from the legal community in terms of best guess for what was happening?

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Valerie just called the defense team back into chambers. Mike B. is there waiting. Jodi is in all black, she goes back as well. 9:41 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Also, Juan, Flores and Steven and Samantha head back into chambers as well. 9:42 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial DP Mitigation Specialist just took #JodiArias' mother out side of the courtroom. Interesting. 9:43 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial DP Mitigation Specialist and #JodiArias' mother just came back in. Errone else is in chambers sippin dom and listening to Manilow I assume? 9:48 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Prosecution and two Travis' sisters just came out. Flores and Juan went into side room by me. He was moving fast. 10:05 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Juan and Samantha just came out of side room. Juan is talking to both sisters. 10:08 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Juan and Flores are seated. SIsters didn't look upset to me from what others seem to be saying. Defense and #JodiArias are still in chambers 10:10 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Mike B. and #JodiArias just came out of chambers. She is speaking with DP Mitigation Specialist now. 10:33 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Deputy just took #JodiArias into the side room. :::yawwnnn::: 10:34 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial #JodiArias father just left the courtroom. Jodi didn't look happy or sad, just complacent as she went by. Nurmi just returned. 10:35 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Mike B placed a paper on the attorneys desk. Nurmi read it, handed it to WIllmott then he left the courtroom. Didn't look happy. 10:36 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Willmott took the paper, grabbed her maroon/salmon bag and also left the courtroom. Can someone please just tell me what's up? 10:36 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Valerie just handed a stack of papers to each attorney table. Possible jury instructions? 10:40 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Multiple sherrif deputies just came in and talked to Valerie and left. 10:41 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Two official looking sheriff type guys just went into the side room where #JodiArias is held. Very suspenseful in here! SUP?!?!? 10:43 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial #JodiArias' mother just left out the back of the courtroom. I don't see any more of her family in the front row now. 10:44 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial It's so quiet in here you can hear a chicken wing move from nurmi and he left the courtroom mintues ago.

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Defense team just came back into the courtroom. 10:47 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial Nurmi just bolted out the courtroom, he has the stride length of OJ Simpson. 10:50 AM - 21 May 13

Wild About Trial @WildAboutTrial #JodiArias just came back into the courtroom. We are all present now. Judge is here, waiting for Jury. 10:51 AM - 21 May 13

Secondly, I was most disturbed when JA's allocution included several new prevarications which could have easily been dis-proven. For instance, she told the jury "100% of proceeds" from her Survivor T's would be going to support DV. Her representations outside of court are that profits, not proceeds, would be donated. Big difference. She also said that it was never her intent to malign Travis in court, but her plea motion clearly indicates otherwise. So my question is why was she allowed to include these misrepresentations in her allocution, or could Martinez have challenged them if he so chose?

I thought there might have been some emergency appeal (special action) effort going on behind the scenes--but who knows in this case.

I doubt she knows the difference between proceeds and profits, but it certainly wouldn't have been worth JM's effort to make a big deal out of that. It would make it seem like the information was somehow important.

What she said in court was totally consistent with what she said in her settlement memorandum--she never intended to malign Travis in court, but was forced to do so because the mean old prosecutor insisted on prosecuting her for first-degree murder.

If JA had lied about something important and relevant to the issues before the jury in her allocution, IMO JM could have asked for and would have been granted the right to present rebuttal evidence.

 

[AZlawyer]

I'm sorry, you've probably answered this 1000 times but if the jury comes up with the DP then its over right (until appeal) but if they come up with Life do they say LWOP or will that be up to the judge and will that decision be immediate?

If the jury decides "life," the judge will decide LWOP vs. 25-to-life. You would think this decision could be made immediately, but in reality a separate sentencing hearing will probably be set for a month or two down the road.

 

[4Jacy]

Is it unusual for JA to give interviews at the Estrella jail? Is there anything stopping every other inmate at the jail from giving interviews, more or less "at will" and with very little notice? Is Sheriff Arapaio legally obligated to give approval to every interview request by every inmate?

Sheriff Arapalo said there are request forms that have to be filled out and approved. I believe all inmates are permitted interviews because he said yesterday it was their constitutional right. Apparently, there is a lot of this going on with the inmates.

I'm sure inmates have to be on their best behavior with no wright-ups. Joe runs a pretty tight ship. Hope tat helps :seeya:

 

[4Jacy]

If the jury decides "life," the judge will decide LWOP vs. 25-to-life. You would think this decision could be made immediately, but in reality a separate sentencing hearing will probably be set for a month or two down the road.

Txs AZ, and so it never ends! :seeya:

 

[dcsmyth1]

A TH HLN attorney just said that Juan committed reversible error when he mentioned to the jury that Jodi might get life with parole. Is that true?

 

[CCM]

Is it common for families to come into court for a jury question? Thanks

 

[discogirl]

When can an alternate juror be used? Can they come into play in regards to a hung jury?

 

[swan366]

Sheriff Arapalo said there are request forms that have to be filled out and approved. I believe all inmates are permitted interviews because he said yesterday it was their constitutional right. Apparently, there is a lot of this going on with the inmates.

I'm sure inmates have to be on their best behavior with no wright-ups. Joe runs a pretty tight ship. Hope tat helps :seeya:

That is helpful; thanks! I'd still be very interested to see statistics on what percentage of interviews have been approved in the last five or so years, and if they have all been scheduled so quickly after requesting them, and how many of them been done at night. This just all seems so bizarre (yeah, among a hundred other issues with this trial).

 

[JusticeJunkie]

There is some conflict as to whether JSS received a QUESTION - what happens if we can't agree, or a note STATING THEY COULD NOT AGREE.
I see that as a HUGE difference. But my question is this:

If JSS was only asked a question of what would happen if they are unable to agree unanimously on a verdict:

Is she able to explain that they may be replaced with a new jury, or is that not allowed?

ETA: Another question. If they DID say they were unable to reach a verdict, why wouldn't that have been on the actual jury form rather than a note?

TIA

 

[JusticeJunkie]

That is helpful; thanks! I'd still be very interested to see statistics on what percentage of interviews have been approved in the last five or so years, and if they have all been scheduled so quickly after requesting them, and how many of them been done at night. This just all seems so bizarre (yeah, among a hundred other issues with this trial).

Also, attorneys - Aren't there curfew hours, or visitor's hours that the press would have had to abide by?