Travis Alexander and Jodi Arias - What do you believe?

[Chanler]

"It's not a lie if you believe it." ~George Costanza

Hi, Chaosengine, and welcome! I don't think that Jodi passed a lie detector test in relation to the forged letters. The expert mentioned had several specialties as I mentioned in post #553.

I love the George Constanza quote. However, I think that Jodi believes in a quite different formulation: That expressing your deepest emotions decisively will ultimate produce the reality you want.

 

[iluvmua]

This witch is totally guilty.........

 

[SheStartedIt]

Any other updates on the case?

I cannot remember. Was Jodi offered a plea deal?

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/02/10/jodi-arias-will-face-death-penalty

 

[nobodyzgirl]

Not sure if this has been posted or not, so if so I'll apologize in advance for the duplication.

The Court has considered the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss State’s Notice of Intent to
Seek the Death Penalty; Speedy Trial and Effective Assistance of Counsel filed December 29, 2011, the State’s Response to Motion to Dismiss State’s Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty; Speedy Trial and Effective Assistance of Counsel filed January 13, 2012, and the oral argument of counsel on March 9, 2012.

IT IS ORDERED denying the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss State’s Notice of Intent to
Seek the Death Penalty; Speedy Trial and Effective Assistance of Counsel filed December 29,2011.

The Court has considered the defendant’s Motion in Limine to Preclude References to
Mr. Alexander as the “Victim” filed November 29, 2011, the Objection to Motion in Limine to Preclude References to Mr. Alexander as the “Victim” filed on December 12, 2011, and the oral argument of counsel on March 9, 2012. In the motion, Defendant requests this court preclude the State from referring to Travis Alexander as the “victim” during the trial. Specifically, Defendant Arias argues she would be prejudiced by permitting the State and its witnesses to refer to Mr. Alexander as the victim since it is contrary to her claim of self defense. As such, she would be prejudiced. The State responds that the term “victim” is routinely used in criminal cases and does not imply the defendant committed the crime with which she has been charged.

Further, the State argues Mr. Alexander was murdered and thus he was a “victim” of a criminal offense as defined by Arizona law. The Court finds the defendant failed to establish she will be prejudiced if Mr. Alexander is referred to as the “victim” in front of the jury during the trial. The State’s evidence will show Mr. Alexander was the victim of a homicide. Apparently, the defendant will argue she acted in self defense and was thus justified in her actions. Regardless, referring to Mr. Alexander as the “victim” during the trial will not unfairly prejudice the defendant. At the request of the defendant, the court will give an appropriate preliminary jury instruction to define the word “victim” for the jury. This will address any potential prejudice that could result from use of the
word “victim” during the trial. The defendant shall file a requested instruction twenty days before trial

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/032012/m5153828.pdf

 

[Knox]

Is this case EVER going to trial?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Filing Date Description
Docket Date Filing Party
5/16/2012 MOT - Motion - Party (001) 5/16/2012

Looked at minute entries and did not see anything for the above, maybe it will show up tomorrow.

 

[iluvmua]

Is this case EVER going to trial?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Looked at minute entries and did not see anything for the above, maybe it will show up tomorrow.

as far as I know, Jodi's trial will start on October 17th.

 

[nobodyzgirl]

Is this case EVER going to trial?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Looked at minute entries and did not see anything for the above, maybe it will show up tomorrow.

Wonder what the motion is for this time.

 

[nobodyzgirl]

Defense counsel advises that they will be calling Alyce Laviolette at the mitigation phase
of the trial.

The State is on notice of defense counsel’s intent to call Alyce Laviolette at the
mitigation phase of the trial.

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/052012/m5249880.pdf

 

[lovelydork]

Seems like I've been waiting forever for this trial to begin

 

[Chanler]

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/052012/m5249880.pdf

Hi, Nobodyzgirl. Alyce Laviollette is a specialist in domestic abuse and gender issues. One would imagine that Jodi's defense is evolving into a claim that she was a battered woman who finally exploded after one of Travis' advances and then suffered post-traumatic stress. To me, it seems like a desperate last stand, but Jodi really has very, very few other options. Once again, she has proven to be her own worst enemy: Her television interviews reveal her as a bright, articulate, surprisingly calm woman who seems to be charting her own route.

(As I've noted before, I think that Jodi was ultimately betrayed by her complete belief in the "infallible, unavoidable" new age Law of Attraction. She has lived out her life by playing out her deepest wishes. Her pre-trial blog snippets show the story:

http://jodiarias.blogspot.com/

http://www.alycelaviolette.com/

 

[bryanwd]

Hi, Nobodyzgirl. Alyce Laviollette is a specialist in domestic abuse and gender issues. One would imagine that Jodi's defense is evolving into a claim that she was a battered woman who finally exploded after one of Travis' advances and then suffered post-traumatic stress. To me, it seems like a desperate last stand, but Jodi really has very, very few other options. Once again, she has proven to be her own worst enemy: Her television interviews reveal her as a bright, articulate, surprisingly calm woman who seems to be charting her own route.

(As I've noted before, I think that Jodi was ultimately betrayed by her complete belief in the "infallible, unavoidable" new age Law of Attraction. She has lived out her life by playing out her deepest wishes. Her pre-trial blog snippets show the story:

http://jodiarias.blogspot.com/

http://www.alycelaviolette.com/

Seems that the best she can get at this point is a "guilty, but insane" which would pretty much be a one way ticket, no return, express train to the snake pit for the rest of her life.

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/44leg/1r/bills/hb2110p.htm

EDIT:
"Conditions that do not constitute legal insanity include but are not limited to momentary, temporary conditions arising from the pressure of the circumstances, moral decadence, depravity or passion growing out of anger, jealousy, revenge, hatred or other motives in a person who does not suffer from a mental disease or defect or an abnormality that is manifested only by criminal conduct."

 

[Chanler]

Seems that the best she can get at this point is a "guilty, but insane" which would pretty much be a one way ticket, no return, express train to the snake pit for the rest of her life.

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/44leg/1r/bills/hb2110p.htm

EDIT:
"Conditions that do not constitute legal insanity include but are not limited to momentary, temporary conditions arising from the pressure of the circumstances, moral decadence, depravity or passion growing out of anger, jealousy, revenge, hatred or other motives in a person who does not suffer from a mental disease or defect or an abnormality that is manifested only by criminal conduct."

Hi, Bryanwd; I definitely agree that Jodi doesn't have much cause for hope. I think that her defense won't argue insanity, but a long-time pattern of abuse and subservience, followed (ever so conveniently) by an attack of post-traumatic stress. Ms. Arias would have been doomed even if she had rolled out this song from the beginning; by presenting multiple scenarios, she very thoroughly cooked her own goose.

 

[bryanwd]

Hi, Bryanwd; I definitely agree that Jodi doesn't have much cause for hope. I think that her defense won't argue insanity, but a long-time pattern of abuse and subservience, followed (ever so conveniently) by an attack of post-traumatic stress. Ms. Arias would have been doomed even if she had rolled out this song from the beginning; by presenting multiple scenarios, she very thoroughly cooked her own goose.

But isn't "post-traumatic stress disorder" a mental disease or defect? That's exactly what an insanity defense is, isn't it? The only extra twist is that she's also blaming her victim as the cause of her mental illness, instead of God or nature.
Wouldn't that still be an insanity defense that falls under Arizona's "guilty, but insane?" I don't think Arizona has a "not guilty by reason of insanity."

EDIT:
Here's an article backing up what I am saying about Arizona and insanity defenses.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011...-jared-loughner-different-defendant-eyes-law/
"Arizona does not allow a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. This means that even if Loughner proves an insanity defense in Arizona, he doesn’t defeat the charges against him. The jury can return a verdict of guilty, but insane -- an outcome which would ensure that even if Loughner recovered enough to leave a state mental institution, he wouldn’t be released, he’d be sent straight to state’s prison."

It really seems like her change in defense spells out check and mate.

 

[Chanler]

But isn't "post-traumatic stress disorder" a mental disease or defect? That's exactly what an insanity defense is, isn't it? The only extra twist is that she's also blaming her victim as the cause of her mental illness, instead of God or nature.
Wouldn't that still be an insanity defense that falls under Arizona's "guilty, but insane?" I don't think Arizona has a "not guilty by reason of insanity."

EDIT:
Here's an article backing up what I am saying about Arizona and insanity defenses.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011...-jared-loughner-different-defendant-eyes-law/
"Arizona does not allow a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. This means that even if Loughner proves an insanity defense in Arizona, he doesn’t defeat the charges against him. The jury can return a verdict of guilty, but insane -- an outcome which would ensure that even if Loughner recovered enough to leave a state mental institution, he wouldn’t be released, he’d be sent straight to state’s prison."

It really seems like her change in defense spells out check and mate.

Hi, Bryanwed; thanks, I enjoy your posts. I don't think that Jodi's lawyers will ever utter the word "insanity" in their introduction or summation. I think that this will be, by necessity, "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" defense. They will argue that after the sudden, bloody, fatal skirmish at the apartment, she went into a numbed, automatic state. (I'm certain that they won't be claiming that this a permanent PTS condition as one might see in military men and women returning from battle zones.)

I would wager that she will testify and say that they had an intense sexual relationship that escalated in increasingly scary ways. To substantiate this claim, they will cite their exchange of steamy messages and their inability to stay away from each other even after they have broken up.

 

[bryanwd]

Hi, Bryanwed; thanks, I enjoy your posts. I don't think that Jodi's lawyers will ever utter the word "insanity" in their introduction or summation. I think that this will be, by necessity, "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" defense. They will argue that after the sudden, bloody, fatal skirmish at the apartment, she went into a numbed, automatic state. (I'm certain that they won't be claiming that this a permanent PTS condition as one might see in military men and women returning from battle zones.)

I would wager that she will testify and say that they had an intense sexual relationship that escalated in increasingly scary ways. To substantiate this claim, they will cite their exchange of steamy messages and their inability to stay away from each other even after they have broken up.

The defense will have to do a hell of a tapdance. They'll have to do an insanity defense without explicitly calling it that, but at the end of the day they still have to have some sort of legal theory behind it besides "Travis was a bad guy and deserved die just because Jodi says so."
There is a provision in Arizona's justification laws that amends "reasonable person" to "reasonable person who has been a victim of those past acts of domestic violence." I'm not expecting much verisimilitude in her performance because she's not a very good actress. Moreover, the judge has already ruled the crime was "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved."
Calling her a "three whole wonder" in a text message just doesn't cut it for justification. Below are the statutes I found online:

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00415.htm
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00405.htm
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00404.htm

and

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/03601.htm

 

[Chanler]

The defense will have to do a hell of a tapdance. They'll have to do an insanity defense without explicitly calling it that, but at the end of the day they still have to have some sort of legal theory behind it besides "Travis was a bad guy and deserved die just because Jodi says so."
There is a provision in Arizona's justification laws that amends "reasonable person" to "reasonable person who has been a victim of those past acts of domestic violence." I'm not expecting much verisimilitude in her performance because she's not a very good actress. Moreover, the judge has already ruled the crime was "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved."
Calling her a "three whole wonder" in a text message just doesn't cut it for justification. Below are the statutes I found online:

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00415.htm
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00405.htm
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00404.htm
and
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/03601.htm

Hi, Bryanwd. I think that her lawyers will focus on self-defense; oddly, the arm cuts that helped focus attention more on her will now be an important part of her defense. Her lawyers probably don't have much to even to imply specific acts of domestic violence: I think that was the main objective of the forged Travis correspondence introduced and rejected earlier. I think that they will target the intensity and obsessive nature of their sexual relationship. They will argue that Travis led a double life: Outwardly, a single, celibate Mormon who was searching for a good Mormon wife. (The defense might even play the video of Travis presenting himself as such in a job video.) And secretly, a lustful young man strongly drawn to Jodi even after he had renounced her to his religious friends. (They can use the sheer aggregate of their emails, texts, and phone calls after he dismissed her as dangerous to his friends.) It's a blame the victim gambit that won't work, but it's the only thing that the Arias camp has.

 

[hellinor]

When is the trial now slotted to begin? I thought about Travis last night and was thinking I'd have missed it!

 

[Chanler]

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Criminal/062012/m5300485.pdf

The Court has received a Request for Order to Assist Mitigation Investigation filed by defense counsel.
IT IS ORDERED granting the Request in accordance with the formal written order signed by the Court on June 13, 2012.

The mitigation investigation concerns the death penalty that Jodi might face:

www1.law.umkc.edu/library/pathfinder/Mitigation_Investigation.doc

Defense counsel in death penalty cases are required to investigate all aspects of the client’s life history and present all possible mitigating factors. The goal of a mitigation presentation is to take the jury for a walk in the defendant’s shoes. Mitigation evidence should never sound like an excuse for committing the crime. The defense counsel should also seek the assistance of a mitigation specialist.



On a personal sidebar: Her lawyers might not want Jodi to testify, but she will likely be "testifying" by her previous bad choices. Her televised interviews almost certainly will be admissible. Even Jerry Sandusky's sloppy, but still less personally damaging Bob Costas interview weakened his already paltry defense. Jodi's matter-of-fact, even buoyant denials could hurt her even more.

 

[Chanler]

When is the trial now slotted to begin? I thought about Travis last night and was thinking I'd have missed it!

Hi, Hellinor. I believe October 17th, although I have read speculation of February 2013.

 

[hellinor]

Hi, Hellinor. I believe October 17th, although I have read speculation of February 2013.

Well at least she's not on the streets with the general public!