The Jodi Arias Trial--Fatal Attraction – The Murder of Travis Alexander

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't understand why Juror 5 is in the courtroom either. I get that she's invested, but she can watch at home like everyone else. And, she's got bailiff escort, which suggests to me that she isn't just another public spectator and shouldn't be there in the first place.

They haven't gotten to the Snow White testimony on HLN yet, username. I read that in the HLN tweet recaps. I'm anxious to see the actual testimony.

Cross-Exam tweet recaps start at 6:51 pm est:
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/04/04/...se-slaying

[username]

I've been mostly watching the last hour or so. The whole Snow White cross examine seems dumb to me. Focus on the important stuff, Juan. I imagine he'll get there but it may take days.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've been mostly watching the last hour or so. The whole Snow White cross examine seems dumb to me. Focus on the important stuff, Juan. I imagine he'll get there but it may take days.

Yeah, I was watching too. The Snow White bit looked short and sweet in the tweet recap and I think Martinez is trying to make a very valid point; LaViolette has diagnosed a battered woman from nothing more than a fairy tale told by Jodi Arias. But, I agree that he took it too far in the testimony and appears to be going in circles again.

Ah well, hope he brings it back into the real world on Monday and succinctly presents LaViolette with questions that force her to admit that Jodi Arias's words and actions can be interpreted to make Jodi the abuser using LaViolette's own DV continuum chart.

If he stays focused, in the process of discrediting her expert opinion, Martinez should be able to strongly demonstrate that this expert had no valid context by which to plug the words of Travis and his friends into her battered woman scenario.

[Barbara]

The Prosecutor ALWAYS knows where HE is going during his questioning (even if we are not sure sometimes ). Tonight seemed a little slow and also was met with laughter at times, mostly from the defense side. The witness also seemed to enjoy playing it up a bit when she simply should have answered yes or no. I look forward to hearing the Prosecutors questions next week. I also noticed today that Jodi seemed to be sketching perhaps, not writing like she does sometimes, I watched her several times glance over at the Prosecution, study, then start to sketch. HLN also shared more of Jodi's journals today, Jodi wrote in her journal (after she murdered Travis) that she dreamed two people did it and were arrested. I think much of what she wrote in her journals prior to the murder of Travis could also be looked at as LIES. Today when the defense was sharing some of Travis's text to Jodi and Travis was telling her what he thought of her, it was like he was speaking from the grave.....she is those very things he said....and HE is HIS own voice...haunting

[Duchess]

How in hell does HLN have access to her journal? I would understand LE having it but not a half assed news organization.

[Barbara]

Duchess, I was wondering the same thing about HLN. They did make it a point to keep saying that ABC and Good Morning America "gave" the journals to Nancy Grace......they kept repeating that

[Duchess]

I don't want to sound like I'm defending her, I'm not but I have a problem with them being in possession of her private property. I wouldn't say the same about LE.

[Duchess]

I swear, I swear, I swear I'm not defending her. I just know someone will take that the wrong way. Ugh.

[HairOfTheDog]

I swear, I swear, I swear I'm not defending her. I just know someone will take that the wrong way. Ugh.

Defending someone's right to privacy isn't the same as defending them for murder; I know what you mean about the media releasing and drooling over her personal writings.

If Arias hadn't done media interviews and weaved so many lies for the public (not just LE) about herself, her victim and her crimes, the media frenzy might rub me the wrong way too.

But, Arias put herself into the public domain (against attorney advice) long before going on trial where she's trying to sell her latest work of fiction, complete with private communications and the worst possible lies about her victim. So, what the media hounds are doing with her personal writings doesn't bother me in this case.

[HairOfTheDog]

Today when the defense was sharing some of Travis's text to Jodi and Travis was telling her what he thought of her, it was like he was speaking from the grave.....she is those very things he said....and HE is HIS own voice...haunting

Felt the same way, Barbara.

"A liar to the core", "you only cry for yourself", "you hurt me more than anything in my life..." (from recollection, not exact quotes from Travis's text).

All of these things have been demonstrated to the jury during trial. Gotta think most, if not all, of the jurors were mentally agreeing with Travis. That LaViolette might possibly believe Jodi's story that Travis's "tirade" stemmed from his anger about her leaving a picture at his house defies reason. I think Martinez is going to crush LaViolette's credibility beyond repair.

I'm expecting a few juror questions about Travis's alleged character assassination of Jodi (oh, the irony). Like, "is it considered character assassination if it's true and directed only to the other party involved in a private communication?"

[username]

Juan, Juan, Juan...did you really have to ask a domestic violence "expert" if she wanted to spar with you??

[HairOfTheDog]

Looks like LaViolette has more to gain financially from this case than just the fat paycheck for research and testimony.

Wonder if Martinez will work this into his cross. Kinda hope he doesn't touch it.

Domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, who is reportedly being paid $300 an hour to testify, is using the high-profile case to promote her book, It Could Happen To Anyone: Why Battered Women Stay, which not-so coincidentally is being republished in its third edition on April 23 — just in time to profit from the publicity of the trial.
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2013/0...ashing-in/

I don't care what people do to make as much money as possible in their fields, legitimately. Just don't trust that she hasn't tailored her expert opinion in this case to fit the defense story.

Wouldn't be surprised if her exposure from this case actually results in fewer book sales.

[BlueTiki]

Looks like LaViolette has more to gain financially from this case than just the fat paycheck for research and testimony.

Wonder if Martinez will work this into his cross.

Just don't trust that she hasn't tailored her expert opinion in this case to fit the defense story.

Her "expert" testimony is rudimentary recovery pablum.

I believe Martinez successfully opened the door (by exposing her lack of academic credentials) that her conclusions are based soley on her interpretation of events without ANY objective, quantifiable or quantitative diagnostics.

It is apparent (at least to me) that all one need do, for her, is provide a narrative of "someone makes me feel bad about myself", "someone frightens me" or allege physial assaults and she'll instantly declare: Abuse Victim!

Just a one-sided story without corroboration buys a ticket on the pity train.

Regarding her profitability aspect: A simple "Will you be mentioning your participation with this trial while promoting the release of the third edition of your book?" might convey an ulterior motive for accepting this case.

With the tailoring of testimony . . . as Martinez got her to admit she can modify her "chart" on a whim, I hope this is repeated during closing arguments; reiterating the fact that her conclusion is subjective to her personal and NOT clinical, standards.

And the whole buying Arias a magazine subscription bugs the hell out me, too.

IMO - It's creepy and inappropriate.

[username]

She definitely deserves a beating over the timing of her book release.

[Barbara]

I swear, I swear, I swear I'm not defending her. I just know someone will take that the wrong way. Ugh.

I understand what you are saying. I found it odd that the journals would be released like this while the trial is going on.

[Barbara]

Martinez is going to crush LaViolette's credibility beyond repair.

I agree HairOfTheDog Hopefully Martinez will weave into his cross with LaViolette that most of what she is basing her ASSumptions on are lies, I believe that Jodi was clever enough to do more in her journal writings and in her replies back to Travis on text to make herself appear a victim. All Martinez needs to do is find the journal page where Jodi wrote....I mean lied about the dream she had about two people being arrested for the murder of Travis....all along knowing while she was writing those words in her journal....that she took the life out of him....I am sure she had plotted this murder for a few weeks. I remember when Jodi was on the stand she mentioned she knew the police would be coming for her soon and going through her things (journals) She was clever enough to try to enter things in her journals to throw the cops off.

LaViolette also mentioned to the defense that a person (Travis) having grown up in a family where there was abuse, would do the same to others unless he had gotten help. LaViolette is very wrong in stating such a "professional opinion" as to why she felt Travis was the abuser

Martinez should ask LaViolette to read the secret notes Jodi wrote(while in prison trying to keep her stories/LIES straight) in the crease of the magazine while she was trying to get her fried to lie more for her....Does that seem like a battered woman? Maybe a CLEVER ABUSER.

Does anyone know what witnesses the Prosecution will be putting on the stand?

[BlueTiki]

I agree HairOfTheDog Hopefully Martinez will weave into his cross with LaViolette that most of what she is basing her ASSumptions on are lies, I believe that Jodi was clever enough to do more in her journal writings and in her replies back to Travis on text to make herself appear a victim.

This got me thinking . . .

With Arias being a known liar and both experts relying on her statements to render a "diagnosis", what method (other than their "Her statements are consistent with . . . " justification) was used to determine her truthfulness?

Did either request an independent polygraph to validate her responses and their conclusions?

A poly to assist rendering a diagnosis; If not . . . Why not?

FFS! You'd think Jodi would jump at the opportunity to have witnesses state she passed a poly to confirm their respective diagnoses of PTSD and satisfy the truthfulness of her portrayal of an abusive and pedo Travis.

Not to mention his being a demander of journal page removal, too.

But hey . . . at $250 - $300 per hour, lies yield a far greater return than the truth.

Especially when you know the State, and not the defendant, will pay the bill.

[HairOfTheDog]

Her "expert" testimony is rudimentary recovery pablum.

I believe Martinez successfully opened the door (by exposing her lack of academic credentials) that her conclusions are based soley on her interpretation of events without ANY objective, quantifiable or quantitative diagnostics.

I thought he made a good very point too. LaViolette's expert opinions are subjective, not objective. That's important for the jury to understand. To me, years of professional experience can equal or exceed having a PhD (which I was surprised she didn't when first viewing her CV). But, LaViolette is not professional. She doesn't strike me as analytical or clynical in her approach or abilities; her so called expertise all stems from her guts, feelings, and selecting the words and opinions that maximize her personal return on investment (in terms of ego and pocketbook). JMO.

With the tailoring of testimony . . . as Martinez got her to admit she can modify her "chart" on a whim, I hope this is repeated during closing arguments; reiterating the fact that her conclusion is subjective to her personal and NOT clinical, standards.

This was the strongest point that he made in the little time that he had for cross-examination before the long weekend break. It's major; hoping too that it's re-iterated in closing arguments.

And the whole buying Arias a magazine subscription bugs the hell out me, too.
IMO - It's creepy and inappropriate.

I started off being open minded regarding LaViolette. Was a little worried that the jury might find her credible because of her likeable folksy demeanor and years of experience with domestic violence victims and perpetrators. That worry diminished on the third day of testimony, when she started in with the Travis is the Big Bad wolf and Jodi is Goldilocks bullshit. Her true nature and motivations were transparent at the point, to me.

When Martinez started his cross, LaViolette's defensive posturing, jabs, selective dementia and attempts to get the jury on her side with practiced facial expressions creeped me out on her altogether; bettin’ the jury feels the same.

Unless Martinez blows chunks (and I don’t think he will), LaViolette’s toast. He gets way under skin. She handed him a ton of ammo during her direct testimony with which he will blow her expert opinion to smithereens. I'm looking forward to witnessing it.

[HairOfTheDog]

Martinez should ask LaViolette to read the secret notes Jodi wrote(while in prison trying to keep her stories/LIES straight) in the crease of the magazine while she was trying to get her fried to lie more for her....Does that seem like a battered woman? Maybe a CLEVER ABUSER.

I'm not sure if all of the journal entries that the media is displaying are entered into evidence, or if some were excluded because they were deemed too prejudicial to Arias (or not deemed of significance by the attorneys).

I don't know if Martinez would want to go there to prove that she tried to dupe police afterwards anyway. That's already been confessed and its significance in regards to Arias's credibility has been hammered home quite effectively by Martinez, imo. If he opens up the authenticity of the journals to the jury this late in the game, it might render all of the good points that he made about what Arias didn't document therein less powerful; he used those journals to make his points too. But, who knows? This trial is wild...

Does anyone know what witnesses the Prosecution will be putting on the stand?

Martinez should be calling Dr. DeMarte, the clinical psychologist that he had examine Jodi. A related bit about her which I haven't seen followed-up on by the media:

(From Feb 9 2913) Just when the Jodi Arias trial couldn’t get any more scandalous, a key witness reported that her home was burglarized and her laptop was stolen.

Dr. Janeen Demarte is a clinical psychologist who evaluated Arias and she is expected to testify as an expert witness for the prosecution. According to a report by myfoxphoenix.com the stolen laptop contained key information in the case including a psychological profile of Arias.

Detectives are still trying to determine if the burglary is related to the high profile Jodi Arias case or if it is just a normal home burglary. The timing is definitely suspicious.

Demarte has not testified yet, but she is expected to be called as a rebuttal witness after the defense rests.

http://wildabouttrial.com/laptop-stolen-...ias-trial/

Here's a profile of Dr. DeMarte's specialties and approach:
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rm...ona_136525

Martinez mentioned Matt McCartney a lot during Jodi's cross and kept jabbing her about how "loyal" she thinks he is to her.

He might call McCartney as a rebuttal witness, but I think it’s more likely that he won't open up that can of worms; McCartney would probably be reluctant and unpredictable.

Imo, Martinez poked at Jodi about his loyalty to let her and the defense team know that "he (Martinez) knows" and tossed just enough out there for the jury to connect the dots without needing McCartney on the stand again. I think the jury likely figured out that Jodi attempted to tamper with McCartney's witness testimony, going so far as to use coded messages drafted behind bars.

[HairOfTheDog]

Geesh, sloppy today.

I think Martinez made a "very good point" about LaViolette's lack of objectivity and the story about Dr. Demarte's stolen lap top was published in Feb "2013".

Sorry for the many typos, Tiki and Barbara. I'd blame it on having cut my finger on a glass working at Margaritaville, hurt it while trying to escape Ninjas, and gotten it injured when I was attacked, but you've heard it all before...