Arizona appeals court upholds Jodi Arias’ murder conviction, sentence

PHOENIX – An Arizona appeals court on Tuesday upheld Jodi Arias’ conviction and sentence in her high-profile first-degree murder case.

In 2013, Arias was convicted of stabbing former boyfriend Travis Alexander 27 times at his home in Mesa in 2008.

After juries deadlocked over sentencing twice, a judge sentenced her to life in prison in 2015.

Arias appealed the conviction and sentence on multiple grounds, including alleged misconduct by prosecutor Juan Martinez.

Arias’ lawyers said Martinez improperly questioned witnesses, courted journalists and disregarded court rulings by repeating questions after the judge had overruled them.

The appeals court condemned Martinez’s behavior but ultimately decided his misconduct did not affect how the jury assessed Arias’ “overwhelming evidence” of guilt.

The ruling was issued in two files, one focused on Martinez’s behavior and another on other technical issues raised by Arias’ defense team.

The Martinez court document concludes as follows:

While I am comforted by the fact that the jury, presented with the evidence and properly instructed, was able to see past the sickening, childish conduct of the State’s attorney, perform their duties as sworn, and apply their common sense and understanding to the task at hand, this is no substitute for the professional responsibility each lawyer must exercise when appearing in any Arizona court. With the issue of the propriety of Arias’ conviction now having been put to rest, and the conduct of the prosecutor having been reported, I am hopeful that the viability and enforceability of our Rules of Professional Conduct will be reasserted and legitimized such that we, Arizona’s attorneys, judges, and courts, can be back about the business of pursuing justice in the manner Arizonans have a right to expect.

After Arias’ attorney filed the appeal, new complaints were made against Martinez, though none of those were raised in the appeal.

This summer, a judge who handles disciplinary cases against attorneys threw out allegations that Martinez made sexually inappropriate comments to female law clerks in his office and had inappropriate contact with a woman who had been dismissed from Arias’ jury and later texted nude photos of herself to the prosecutor.

The remaining allegations against Martinez in the attorney disciplinary case included claims that the prosecutor leaked another juror’s identity to a blogger with whom Martinez was having a sexual relationship.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office moved to fire Martinez this year after suspending him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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