Written by: Edie Morse

Edie Morse

"You have asked me what I would do and what I would not do. I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use— silence, exile, and cunning.” ― James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

There is something very mysterious brewing underneath the surface of this never-ending trial. Skank, it seems, will never be sentenced-- although she must be, according to the law. We all know that much, to be sure. I have been pondering this enigmatic Oral Argument hearing-- which was supposed to take place a long time ago-- but which has been cancelled and re-scheduled many, many times now-- officially, since the Fall of 2013. It never takes place. Why? It has been re-scheduled to take place on the 17th of March, 2014-- 6 months or more after its' initial inception.

The origins of this Oral Argument began back in May 2013, when the jury could not agree upon the DP sentence, and was hung. Throughout the original trial, JA & Co. vociferously argued that Skank did not suffer from any mental illness-- nor from any personality disorder-- whatsoever. In fact, when Dr. Janine DeMarte and Dr. Jill Hayes confirmed that Skank did show symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); JA & Co. fought this diagnosis with all of their might-- attempting to discredit that claim. Because, from the beginning, Skank believed that "No Jury Will Convict Me"-- and figured that her "Foggy-Girl; PTSD; and Victim of Domestic Abuse" scam would work, to get her acquitted of 1st degree premeditated murder. Well, JA & Co.'s con-game didn't work.

Thus, in June of 2013, JA & Co. did a complete about face... turning their argument 180º around-- upside-down-inside-out-- and, on it's head... First these self-serving liars were against any notion of a personality disorder or a mental illness-- but then, in the aftermath of the hung jury, last May, they were suddenly, remarkably, all for it:--

“If the diagnosis made by the State’s psychologist is correct, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is seeking to impose the death penalty upon a mentally ill woman who has no prior criminal history,” Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott told The Arizona Republic in a statement Tuesday." - June 5, 2013. Source:-- http://radaronline.com/…/2…/06/jodi-arias-mentally-ill-death- penalty-lawyer/

From that moment onwards, the wheels of Skank's new-fangled Mendacity Motorcar started to grind forward-- for JA & Co. became dead-set to drive her out of any possibility of a Death Row destination, and instead onwards to LWOP, or even LWP, if possible. As such, in my opinion, the defense team (DT) have gone back to the beginning, into the very early days of their nefarious "investigations", back into the archives-- starting with Dr. Cheryl Karp. For the DT now hope that Dr. Cheryl Karp will enable them to put forth a defense, possibility with the collaboration of other mental health charlatans, to argue that Skank is "mentally ill"-- and thus, should not be sentenced to the Death Penalty.

Dr. Cheryl Karp, PhD, seems to have an uncanny penchant for providing "evidence" on behalf of defendants, by claiming that they suffer from "battered women syndrome and domestic violence." She is currently destined to testify for the defense, in the Marissa Devault trial... and, to claim, no less, that Devault suffers from domestic violence:--

"One of the expert witnesses from the Jodi Arias trial that we are all familiar with is Dr. Cheryl Karp. She was also utilized for this case as well. There is word that [Dr. Janine] DeMarte was hired by the State as an expert witness and we all know how that went last time. According to court records, this case continues to be reminiscent of Arias in the claims the defense is making in the domestic violence arena. In the Marissa Devault trial the defense will be using battered women syndrome and has said in court documents that they will “offer a domestic violence theory of justification." - February 2, 2014. Source:-- http://thetrialdivas.com/…/marissa-devault-murder-by-hamme…/

Sound familiar??? Prior to Dr. Richard "Quack" Samuels and Alyce "Quack-Quack" LaViolette being called by the DT to aide-and-abet Skank in fabricating their cynical "Fog"-- PTSD-- "Victim of Domestic Violence" ploy-- and anything else (except NOT mental illness, NOR personality disorder) that they could throw into the mix-- Dr. Cheryl Karp was hired by the defense in order to diagnose Skank. She authored the "Karp Report", which the DT intended to enter into evidence, but Juan Martinez was able to keep out, because Dr. Karp had based her ill-conceived diagnosis of Skank on the basis of a number of lies, and also, the forged letters which Skank cunningly devised in order to falsely frame Travis Alexander for (non-existent) pedophilia. Thus, prior to the start of the trial, Juan Martinez argued:--

"Dr. Karp stated in her report: 'The relationship also involved Travis' pedophilic tendencies . . . ."; ". . . . as well as [Jodi] discovering his pedophilic behavior . . . ."; "She knows she was the only one that actually knew his 'awful dark secret' -- that he was a pedophile." (Karp Report - Under Seal)... Juan Martinez goes on to argue that the only corroborating evidence that JA & Co. have are 10 forged letters, in admissible because they are obviously fakes... - June, 2011. Source:-- http://www.google.com/url…

In her testimony during the trial, Dr. Janine DeMarte testified that "she reviewed an evaluation of Arias by Dr. Cheryl L. Karp, the Vice-Chairperson for the State of Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners. DeMarte said Arias indicated more episodes of alleged abuse to Dr. Karp than she did to herself and the other defense experts. ... "She told me there were four distinct episodes of alleged abuse," Demarte said of her evaluation of Arias... [Juan] Martinez then asked DeMarte how many incidents of alleged abuse Arias recounted to Dr. Karp. "I can't even count [them] ... there was numerous reports of frequent abuse and threatening behavior," DeMarte said. ... DeMarte said she diagnosed Arias with borderline personality disorder. She also testified she found no evidence to believe Arias' claims about her memory problems or that she was a victim of domestic violence and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder." - April 16, 2013. Source:-- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/jodi-arias-trial-defense-re…

Clearly, Dr. Karp based her ill-founded diagnoses of Skank upon a pile of lies, which JA didn't even bother to relate to later psychological experts and/or to the defense quacks. Moreover, Dr. Karp didn't seem to even bother to question Skank's "self-serving" motive in trashing Travis Alexander as a pedophile. One would have thought that it was obvious:-- i.e. that by transforming Travis Alexander into a child molester who lusted after little children-- that he would be so very hated by the jury; and, that the public would laud her as a hero for getting rid of him. What a transparently cunning lie, created to save herself from being held accountable for her brutal slaughter of Travis Alexander-- so much so, that one would have thought it would be elementary Psychology 101. How did Dr. Karp miss the obvious?

Well, back in 2011, Dr. Cheryl Karp was facing some problems of her own. She was never called to testify on behalf of Skank, because it was reported that she was ill... but something else quite serious was occurring, at that time, when, on August 23, 2011, the State of Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners was reviewing Dr. Karp's competence:--

... "Mr. Harrison assured the Board that Dr. Karp is not presently seeing patients or practicing as a psychologist and is currently under medical care. Mr. Harrison stated that Dr. Karp will not resume practicing psychology until her treating physician releases her to do so. Board members asked Mr. Harrison if Dr. Karp is participating in any litigation or mitigation concerning her forensic practice... DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING CHERYL KARP, Ph.D. AND A.R.S. §32-2081(E) AND CONSIDERATION OF THE NEED FOR EXAMINATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS DETERMINED TO BE APPROPRIATE ... Dr. Bohanske made a motion, seconded by Dr. Brundage, to offer Licensee a Consent Agreement for medical inactive status to be signed and returned within 15 days. If Licensee requests to return to active status, Licensee would be required to undergo a Fitness for Duty evaluation..."... August 23, 2011. Source:--http://www.google.com/url…

This was serious for Dr. Karp, my friends... this incident was not a flu, nor an appendix operation, etc. Did Dr. Karp suffer from a nervous breakdown, or take leave due to having committed an ethics violation, or some other serious infraction? According to this report, she was not deemed fit to continue practicing psychology on a professional basis, at that time. And, it seems that the AZ State Board of Psychologist Examiners were concerned about possible wrong-doings. So, how might this related to JA & Co.? We do not know-- there may or may not be any direct connection-- we do not know because Judge "Sisyphus" Stephens (JSS) has sealed everything, in a cloak of secrecy. But we do know that Dr. Karp never was called to testify during Skank's trial. Rumor has it that she has now offered to testify on behalf of Skank during any upcoming final penalty re-trial.

In my opinion, much of the secrecy in which JSS has shrouded this trial, has to do with Dr. Karp, and JA & Co.'s plan to employ her services in the future, in order to claim that Skank suffers from some manufactured "mental illness" or "personality disorder" which warrants hospitalization, as opposed to incarceration. In September of 2013, Juan Martinez filed this objection to JA & CO.'s motion to preclude his rebuttal evidence as it related to their expert witness, Dr. Karp:--

Filing Date Description Docket Date Filing Party
9/11/2013 OBJ - Objection/Opposition. - Party (001) 9/12/2013
NOTE: OBJECTION TO MOTION TO PRECLUDE PENALTY PHASE REBUTTAL EVIDENCE RELATED TO EXPERT WITNESS DR. CHERYL KARP

Refer also to Dr. Kristina Randle's article entitled "Lawyers Preparing For Jodi Arias’ Upcoming Status Hearing" at http://kristinarandle.com/…/lawyers-preparing-for-jodi-ari…/ ...

Subsequently, JSS has continued to seal the record-- and even replaced the above AZ Maricopa County Superior Court Docket entry with this one:--

9/11/2013 SDO - Order to Seal Documents - Party (001) 9/24/2013

Since that time, Skank had asked for, and been granted, numerous ex-parte meetings by JSS-- and this specific Oral Argument hearing to rule upon Juan Martinez's rebuttal evidence, has not taken place-- for it has been cancelled and re-scheduled numerous times... But this Oral Argument is critical-- because it goes to the very core of what JA & Co. will argue in the final penalty re-trial. What is JSS covering-up? I believe it to be everything to do with Dr. Cheryl Karp and potential other defense quacks who are planning to testify on behalf of Skank... and this would also explain JSS sealing of Skank's Estrella jail visitation records, of late, particularly if Skank is undergoing further psychological examinations.

What would Juan Martinez's rebuttal evidence comprise?

* Would he impeach Dr. Cheryl Karp's credibility-- on the basis of what occurred back in 2011, with the State of Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners?

* Would he ask to enter into evidence that Skank forged the self-serving 10-fake pedophile letters in order to maliciously frame Travis Alexander?

* Would he want to show that BPD is a "personality disorder"-- not a "mental illness"-- and that Skank knew exactly that what she was doing was morally wrong, as well as criminally illegal, when she plotted her premeditation of her killing; when she carried out her grotesque murder & cleaned-up the crime scene; and when she subsequently fled to sex Ryan Burns, and then, covered-up her own crime with multiple lies & devious ruses?

I would... and I'll guess that Juan Martinez does too. But why would JSS want to seal all of this? Why the secrecy? Could it be that JSS is concerned not only to protect Skank-- but that she is also being pressured to protect Dr. Karp? Dr. Karp has a questionable background... and powerful friends. Thus, despite past behaviors which were so serious that she faced losing her license, and even possible charges-- she is back-- currently about to testify for Devault. And also, Dr. Karp might be called to testify for Skank.

This nightmarish trial has certainly become "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma", thanks to the incompetent judge, JSS. Yet, I think that Dr. Karp, and her "Karp Report", and JA & Co.'s attempt to save her life by exploiting a "mental illness" BS defense, are all at the heart of this secrecy. For 'tis true, that Skank really does not have any valid mitigating factors-- all of which can easily be debunked-- if JSS allows Juan Martinez to do his job. Of course, now the future outcome depends upon JSS. JSS may be coming under tremendous pressure to avoid a "rat's nest" of controversy -- hence her desperation to find the ways & means to take the Death Penalty "off-the-table". So, JSS needs reminding of William Penn's wise words:--

“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”