Jodi Arias Phase 3 (Sentencing) Retrial Day 2 "A Juror's Perspective"
I dressed in the same type of attire I wore as a Juror in the four month long trial of Marissa DeVault. I always dressed professionally in respect for the victim, Dale Harrell, as well as in respect for the position I had as a Juror. And...I am old school. Today, I wore a pressed Ralph Lauren blue Oxford complimented with a Jerry Garcia tie.The tie is bright red with flavors of blue, gray and black I remember thinking as I was getting dressed this morning, I wondered what kind of journey we would go on today. It seems that anything surrounding Jodi Arias attracts drama whether one wants it to or not.
The day's testimony began with Juan Martinez questioning the medical examiner, Dr. Horn. I remember watching Mr. Martinez from the gallery prior to the start of trial and he walked up to the family of Travis Alexander and spoke to most of them in the front row. He spoke softly to each individually and one felt that he was making sure to include the family in every step of the process. I sincerely feel that he is the symbol for Justice for Travis and his heart is in this beyond what any of us could imagine. I respect him for the amount of care and detail that he puts into his work. He is simply amazing!
He pursues each witnesses like a caged lion. He rarely stands stationary. He paces as he carefully directs his questions. His questioning flows and is poignant and purposeful. He makes his witnesses feel at ease on the stand. His pace is fast. He also has the remarkable ability to allow you to connect the dots in the testimony he gets. He doesn't tell one what to think, he affords one the opportunity to think for themselves.
For example, yesterday he managed to present over 125 pieces of evidence in front of the Jury. It was vivid and graphic. I can barely imagine what the family must be feeling to see these images regurgitated again. The weight of the pictures forces one to think of Travis Alexander and all that was lost because of someone's selfishness. He was a good man with a life in front of him. Juan understands this impact but he forces one to look outside the box. There was a picture of Travis deceased in the shower. He drew attention to a clear, plastic drinking glass lying in the corner on its side in the shower. We, and the Jury, saw the glass. He left it at that and moved on to another piece of evidence.
Hours later, I realized what he was talking about. Travis' body was in the shower with multiple wounds on him. There was little to no blood on the shower floor.
"She" used the glass to wash him off after she dragged his body into the shower. It establishes and reinforces consciousness of guilt. Juan is methodically revealing her character and lack of empathy piece by piece. I pray the jury sees this because this truly is about Justice for Travis.
Jennifer Wilmont did virtually all the speaking for the defense side of the trial. The Cliff Notes version is that she spent entirely too much time talking about a bullet that she wants us to believe that Travis did not immediately succumb from using a case from 1848 to show a man lived for 12 years after having a tent pole go through his mouth and into the frontal lobe of the brain. My main issue with this is that it seems immaterial in that this has already been determined by a prior jury. It would seem to me that her focus needs to be on mitigating factors as opposed to a discussion on the manner in which Travis died.
Suffice it to say that the pace slowed to a crawl. She completed her work and the Jury was dismissed.
Suddenly, Judge Stevens asks if Beth Karas (HLN Legal Analyst) was in the courtroom and called her to the stand. I believe I remember this happening to Jean Casarus (sp) in the first trial when Juan Martinez autographed a walking stick.
Apparently, Juror #9 was outside smoking near a number of my fellow trial watchers. Beth Karas and her cameraman were doing some takes on film when someone realized that a Juror from the trial was near them. They gathered up their things and went inside to pass through security.
Juror #9 walked up to Beth Karas and asked her if she was Nancy Grace...
I was floored because my Juror experience is recent enough to know the rules like the back of my hand. The rules are simple. If one is a Juror on any trial, the only people you can talk to are your fellow Juror's. (You just can't talk about the trial to each other until the deliberation stage). One cannot talk with the attorneys of either side nor can one talk to a Judge on the trial you are part of. Certainly, I saw all participants in the DeVault trial. A smile and a nod of the head would suffice if one passed an attorney in the hallway or one happened to take the elevator down with the Judge.
The Jury is admonished every day. Do not speak to anyone, including the media, throughout the trial. Period.
Juror #9 was 86'd before court resumed for the afternoon.
The afternoon opens with Juan speaking to Dr. Horn. He asks a question or two.
Juan then walked from the floor and up the step to the witness chair where Dr. Horn was seated with his hands flat on the table in front of him.
Juan reached into his suit coat pocket and, quick as a flash, Faux stabbed the Medical Examiner with his pen...
Juan Martinez is brilliant, just brilliant!
See you tomorrow and don't forget to pick up "Brain Damage: A Juror's Tale - The Hammer Killing Trial." on Amazon.com
Thanks for listening!
Justice for Travis!
No comments:
Post a Comment