Expect More Surprises in The Jodi Arias Case

Phoenix, AZ—The second attempt to get a verdict in the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias murder trial is about be get underway before Judge Sherry Stephens. Will it be death, life without parole or a 25 calendar year sentence?   Arias would get full credit for her years in pretrial custody. 

Arias is understandably and desperately seeking some control over her defense and public relations matters.  The problem is that she’s woefully unqualified to make any of those decisions.

The lawyers assigned to defend Arias are not exactly heavy hitters.  They are lightweights with limited skills and resources.  

Arias has been widely criticized for her missteps at every turn.  This young woman is fighting for her life while dealing with complicated issues few of us will ever have to face. For her there are no right answers.  Whatever she does turns out wrong. 

The only thing I know about Arias for sure is she has given substantially different versions of whatever happened in that Mesa, AZ home. I’ve learned long ago that people that use legitimate and lawful deadly force in self-defense far too often lie to authorities because they think it’s somehow necessary.  

The simple truth is if Arias had invoked her right to remain silent and simply refused to answer police questions she would have probably never been arrested.  In any event she’d be a free woman today.  

People that have never walked in this Arias’ shoes are the first to castigate her.  

Judge Stephens wisely booted the Media’s cameras out of the courtroom for the second penalty phase.  The actual murder trial that ended in conviction was as ugly as any court/media circus in American history. Perhaps this time the jury can do their jobs with less outside influence.

Protecting un-sequestered jurors from published material and videos is absolutely impossible in this day and age.  Judges have to take special precautions to prevent the court’s evidence from being co-mingled with Internet gossip.

Frankly the courts have been incredibly negligent beyond giving jurors redundant but meaningless admonishments to avoid such material. 

Under the media's radar, this case has had lawyers arguing and litigating under court seal since this sensational trial ended.  In my decades of courtroom and criminal justice experience I’ve seen nothing like this. 

My trusted Phoenix court sources have told me the protracted secret fight is over a “new” witness and evidence that was not considered at the first trial. This has nothing to do with the penalty phase but in fact what may actually lead to a new trial that may yet clear Arias.

This case has drawn an astronomical number of vocal trolls that have consistently spread anti-Arias hate and venom.  These trolls all claim to have watched the whole trial and know everything.

What these trolls are clueless about are the hours of the trial that they have never seen!  That was the numerous fights over evidence and admissibility in Judge Stephens’ chambers where the press, their cameras and public was excluded.

I hear the trolls say, "But she stabbed him so many times!"  What people don't realize is that few of these wounds were mortal.  The human body is so amazing that it will continue to fight to survive.  

A somewhat frail woman realistically would have to stab a stronger male numerous tines before he would begin to weaken or expire. Superficial wounds inflicted by a weaker female would do little but invite more aggression from a stronger male. 

The Arias case is sure to take many more surprising turns before it is over. 

I’m convinced that ultimately there may be enough prosecutorial and judicial misconduct in the Arias case to reverse any conviction and prevent a retrial.  I would not count out the real possibility that Arias may be freed before the litigation is over.

Jodi Arias’ Trial and Conviction along with Months of Secret Court Hearings is a National Disgrace

Phoenix, AZ—Jodi Arias was arrested tried convicted and may yet face an executioner.   Her stories about the June 2008 death of her former boyfriend, Travis Alexander varied significantly.  Was it justifiable?  The jury along with everyone else could only guess.  Since when does a guess prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?

Alexander withstood well over 20 cuts or stabs from a knife and a gunshot wound to his head from a tiny .25 ACP pistol bullet.  He had plenty of so-called defense wounds on his hands and arms.  That means he was putting up a serious and deadly fight with Arias.  Apparently Arias won the struggle.  Who was the initial aggressor?  Was this fight spontaneous or a murderous attack on Alexander by Arias? 

Many people like to believe that they are positive of their favorite theory of what happened during this epic battle that nobody saw.  

Arias lied but innocent people often exaggerate and lie all the time out of simple fear.  Hell, most Americans can’t seem to tell the truth about why they were late for work. 

I don’t really think Arais' lies mean much at all.  She may have tried to cover up her involvement simply to put this horror behind her.  Who in their right mind would want to explain such an event to a bunch of cops?  We’d all want to do whatever we could to make something like this go away. 

Is Arias guilty of Capital Murder?  Hell, I don’t know.  On it’s face it looks like a violent emotional outburst rather than a planned event.  

The repeated stab wounds would have angered Alexander and caused him to fight even more desperately.  It takes a lot of injury to stop a strong healthy human and most of the injuries were superficial and non-fatal. 

The trial of Jody Arias was an exercise in Roman Coliseum style, ghastly entertainment.  Tongues were wagging about this trial coast to coast.  The Arias jury was undoubtedly influenced by the crush of the celebrity pundit opinions despite numerous and ineffective admonishments to avoid the media and Internet. 

The un-sequestered Arias jury could not help but see the hoopla and unprecedented media encampment surrounding the Maricopa County Superior Court during this circus.  We can pretend they were not influenced but we all really know better.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez paraded around like a peacock as he signed autographs for his adoring audience.  The trial became a shameful sham as Judge Sherry Stephens surrendered all of the decorum and dignity American trials are supposed to maintain.  Arias was convicted as the crowds outside cheered louder that what we’d hear at any Super Bowl.  

Since the trial there has been non-stop secret court hearings on this case reminiscent of those infamous Star Chamber proceedings.  This may be an attempt to slow down the publicity cyclone they created, but it’s way too late to un-ring the bell and somehow establish a sudden sense of fairness.  They manufactured a Guilty verdict by popular public opinion rather than evidence.

Arias’ rights to a fair trial have been violated in the gravest extreme.  When an American’s rights are violated by the misconduct of courts or prosecutors the only remedy is to declare a mistrial and to attach jeopardy.  Simply said, it’s time to free Jodi Arias after six years of imprisonment and one of the poorest excuses of a trial in American history.

Judge Stephens and prosecutor Martinez can pretend that they bear no responsibility for this giant farce.  They played to the celebrity crush and facilitated this disgrace.  They both deserve to be purged from the State Bar of Arizona for their misconduct.  They both knew better. 

A Sad Tale About Chicago’s Assisting the Mentally Ill…

Chicago, IL—In Chicago like most cops I had a part-time security gig.  I handled security for the now long gone Continental Trailways Bus Company located at 20 East Randolph.  

I had to deal with pimps looking for runaway girls needed for their stables.  Pick pockets, purse-snatchers, baggage thieves, drug addicts and sex-perverts all loved bus and train stations.   Dealing with this culture took a lot of tough love.  Yes, I had some epic and unforgettable battles that sent lots business to the local emergency rooms and the old 001 police lockup at 1121 South State street.    

There were times I’d encounter people in real need and helping them was often a challenge.  I sent many people to area shelters and places where they could score a free meal.  I’d find vulnerable and desperate runaway girls in need of social services.  I gave the Salvation Army hundreds of customers over the years. 

One day in about 1971, I came into the depot and saw that officers were dealing with a man found removing a brown paper bag containing his life savings,  $70,000.00 from a rental storage locker.  

The man was on a layover from New York to Los Angeles, CA to take a new job as an aircraft machinist.  

A concerned woman saw his cash bag and called the police.  They arrived and the man was very livid and demanded to be left alone. He said he put the bag in a locker because he wanted to walk around and see some local sights.

A sergeant decided that the man should be sent to the Reed Zone Center to get his clock rewound.  In simple English that simply meant taking him to a mental facility for emergency care and observation.  

The fun began!  These mental health referrals always bring lawyers appointed as guardians, court dates and of course mental health evaluations.  The man’s cash was inventoried and placed into the police evidence and recovered property section. 

The court determined that the man was not indigent so his treatment costs, temporary legal guardian should not burden the taxpayers.  What should have been a three-day event lasted three weeks.  A judge ordered that the man’s money be released to the guardian for proper distribution and safekeeping. 

Finally the man was found to be sane and perfectly able to care for himself and was released.   The poor man came back to Trailways in tears and I had a chat with him.  

The hapless man told me he now needed a ticket to return to New York because the new job he’d found in California had been filled by someone else.  He showed me a check made out to him by his guardian for $2,800.00.  He said that they used nearly all of his money for the “services” that they provided him over his three weeks in Hell. 

The poor fellow needed help because no bank would cash the check from the legal guardian.  He now had no cash to buy a bus ticket.  I sent him off to the Salvation Army for help.  I never saw him again.

This was just one more example of just how helpful a Progressive Nanny Government can be.

Like the old 1950’s TV Show, Naked City’s narrator would say, “There are Eight million stories in the Naked City and this has been one of them”. 

Airports, the TSA, Guns, Strict Liability and Insanity

Los Angeles, CA—Notwithstanding the Second Amendment that clearly grants Americans the right to keep and bear arms we’ve allowed despotic politicians to suspend that right. One such result are those “Gun Free Zones”.

Yes, most all of America’s gun laws are unconstitutional. It’s obvious that our judges have allegiance to the tyrannical politicians that appointed them rather than to our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Most American laws require actual intent on the part of someone in order to be convicted of breaking them. For example we forgive accidents even when a human life is lost.

People legitimately carry merchandise out of stores forgetting to pay the cashier. I’ve done that myself a time or two. Thankfully I discovered the lapse and scrambled back in to pay for whatever I lifted avoiding arrest.

To convict someone of breaking a law the government in most cases must prove that the defendant knowingly and intentionally committed the crime.

The human condition of forgetfulness and pre-occupation is a reality.

Even in the most tyrannical jurisdictions in the United States, must allow law-abiding people to possess firearms. The firearms must be transported from store, to home, to firing ranges or hunting grounds.

Most jurisdictions allow the simply carrying of firearms in pockets, holsters, briefcases and luggage.

People forget they have the weapons especially in briefcases and tote bags. From time to time we all must travel and forgetting we have a firearm in some bag at the airport is understandable.

Like it or not the TSA is in place to make sure no weapons are brought into our airplanes. They invade or privacy and grope or genitals looking for any form of weapons or contraband. We all know if we carry any firearm or weapon, the baggage screeners will discover it.

Nobody in his or her right mind, including a terrorist would intentionally bring gun concealed in a bag and then surrender the bag to the TSA for inspection and X Ray observation.

Guns found by the TSA in surrendered baggage are almost never intentionally or nefariously placed in luggage. They have been occasionally placed in luggage by others playing dirty tricks on travelers.

A long time friend of mine’s son bought a totally legal semi-automatic UZI 9MM. He needed to transport it from a hotel and stuck it in his mother's suitcase. The fun began when he forgot to remove it and his elegant mother took the bag to a Miami airport. She was quickly taken down like a Muslim terrorist by police who were alerted by the TSA.

It took days to sort the mess out and the hapless mom was ready for some expensive therapy for her Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. In some jurisdictions she would have been convicted for a felony crime and done prison time.

In another case a well-known actor and retired Chicago cop had a .22 pistol in a briefcase. He traveled by car into California with the forgotten little gun. Due to a family emergency he had to fly out of LAX. He was preoccupied with the emergency bringing his briefcase and set it down for the TSA's routine inspection. You guessed it! He became a big news story for the tabloids.

The retired actor was charged with several redundant offenses and jailed. Since it was the weekend and the banks were closed it took him some 12 hours to post the ridiculously excessive bail imposed. The actor’s lawyer was able to negotiate a plea bargain that imposed a fine but would be cleared from his record after a certain time period.

Are we somehow safer for making criminals out of forgetful travelers? What do we gain by eliminating intent and imposing strict liability for possessing firearms under these circumstances?

The most the TSA and authorities should be doing is removing these firearms and allowing the travelers to make other approved arrangements for their transportation.

I guess we must ask Congress to bring a little sanity to the TSA.

Chicago Judge Steals Christmas From A Little Girl!

Chicago, IL—This is one of those stories you just can’t make up. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Edward Jordan has ordered Christmas taken away from a three year-old girl!

Despite our Constitution’s First Amendment Judge Jordan has stepped into a religious dispute between parents and ordered the Catholic father not to expose the child to any non-Jewish religious activities.

The child’s mother Rebecca Reyes an apparent devout Jew, petitioned for and won the restraining order From Judge Jordan. That order in effect steals Christmas from her daughter.

The dispute between Rebecca and Joseph Reyes is not really a trivial issue. Both parents are divided on their daughter’s religious education. Who should mediate this case? No American court has jurisdiction over religion. Is there an acceptable compromise when both the Jewish and Catholic religions claim their supremacy?

Judge Jordan is playing the Part of Dr. Suess’ Grinch and the little Reyes girl is none other than Cindy Lou Who from Whoville in this sad but true story where life imitates art.

Amazingly WBBM-TV’s Mike Puccinelli did this story and deliberately declined to identify the judge that restrained Christmas with an official court edict. To say that redaction was lame is an understatement. Since when does any journalist protect a public official from their undisputed actions under color of law?

I called Puccinelli who told me that editorial decision came from station management.

Judge Jordan is a former President of the Decalogue Society, which is the Jewish Bar Association in Chicago. Perhaps Jordan’s own faith may have influenced his decision that has now established Jewish religious superiority within Cook County, Illinois.

Joel Brodsky, himself a Jew and his law partner, Reem Odeah, a Palestinian-American lawyer represent the Catholic father, Joseph Reyes. He declined to discuss Judge Jordan or his motives. Brodsky wasted no time he has already filed an appeal of Judge Jordan’s order.


Brodsky and Odeh

I doubt that the appeal will be heard before Christmas in this seemingly landmark case and that’s too bad. I’m taking sides on this case and that is the side of our Constitution and its promise not to establish religion.

Here is a link to Mike Puccinelli’s story on WBBM-TV.