How long does a trial attorney remain the attorney of record, once a defendant is convicted of something like murder 1? Do the attorney and client typically "part ways" soon after the conviction, and appellate attorneys take over? Can a trial attorney continue to represent a convicted client (murder 1) through the appeals process, or is that a specialized area of law that an attorney must be specially qualified to handle?
Also, can you comment on the appeals process for a DP sentence versus LWOP? I understand appeals for DP convictions are automatic, and presumably paid for by the state for indigent prisoners. Are LWOP appeals similarly automatic? Are all costs for LWOP appeals paid for by the state? Is it up to the judge how many attorneys are paid to represent an indigent client in AZ? Or are their rules like FL has where there is a committee who decides and approves costs? (JAC)
TIA!
The trial attorney remains of record until the appeal is filed. Appellate work is not an official specialty in AZ (yet--maybe soon), but the county does hire separate counsel for appeals for indigent defendants, I believe. And it certainly requires a different set of skills than trial work.
LWOP does not result in an automatic appeal, but the cost of appeal would still be paid for by the state. I'm not sure how many appellate attorneys you get in Maricopa County--one or two, I assume. There is an entity that approves costs and rules about what will be approved, yes..
Can you comment on what the real world effects of a successful wrongful death civil suit would be for the Alexander family, given that Jodi is indigent and will likely spend the rest of her life in prison? Are the damages awarded simply to ensure that Jodi will never be able to personally profit from anything she sells related to the crime? Is the Son of Sam law sufficient to prevent that? Or is a wrongful death suit proactively designed to make sure that any future earnings (even unrelated to the crime) are first paid to the Alexanders?
I guess I'm a little confused as to why the family would pursue a wrongful death civil suit, give that Jodi faces DP or life in prison, and she is indigent. she is not someone like OJ who had substantial wealth, so I'm trying to understand the goals of the civil suit.
TIA!
Personally, I would file the suit just to get the donations from the jodiariasisinnocent people--just for the irony.
Once the supporters realized that there was no point, perhaps they would stop donating. And yes, a civil judgment would cover earnings unrelated to the crime, like selling her silly art or, e.g., a CD of her singing Christmas carols.
Are there circumstances under which the aggravation/ mitigation, and sentencing phases can proceed without Jodi's physical presence in the courtroom, if she is too ill, or uncooperative? Or is the trial suspended indefinitely until she is able to participate?
She would need to be able to participate. The only possibility for proceeding without her physical presence would be if she is being intentionally disruptive, and in that case she would still be given a real-time way to watch the proceedings and communicate with counsel.
the judge wouldn't allow her attorneys to withdraw at this stage of the game, right? isn't it more likely she wants to fire THEM? (if this whole kerfuffle has anything to do with them, that is.)
At most, the judge might allow her to represent herself with the attorneys as advisory counsel.
Hey, AZ! Just want to make sure I'm getting this right, are the letters "supposedly" written by Travis, which were not part of evidence, able to be shown OR alluded to by the defense during ANY phase? IOW, is it going to be another "trash Travis-fest" only "new and improved"??
It seems to me, many are expecting the kitchen sink to be acceptable during the last 2 phases.
Such as, her arrest report and what was found, more of the Flores interviews, etc.
TIA
In the aggravation phase, very little evidence will be allowed--only evidence relating to "cruelty."
In the mitigation phase, the DEFENSE will be allowed to bring in the "kitchen sink," but only insofar as such "evidence" relates to JODI's character, propensity, history or record, or to the characteristics of the offense. IMO whether or not Travis was a pedophile (not) does not fall within any of those categories. Also, if the defense team withdrew its request to admit those letters because it had information that they were forged, then their ethical problem regarding the letters would still remain in the penalty phase.
The STATE will not be allowed to bring in the "kitchen sink," however.
