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

[HairOfTheDog]

Wednesday is gonna be a long day; the judge declared they'll start at 9 am and keep going until testimony is through so jury instructions can be read on Thursday, after which closing arguments will begin.

Shit, the way this trial has gone, it will be 9pm when the jury gets their instructions.

I bet the jury is glad to see things finally being pushed at a faster pace after months of short days and days off. At least they'll have 5 consecutive days off before marathon Wednesday.

Really curious to see if the jury instructions include the defense's lesser charge request, which essentially gives them the option of finding Arias guilty of a crime of passion. Hope not; I am convinced she planned the whole thing out before she made that fateful road trip.

Another juror dismissed.

Yep, the first one was a woman who was booted for making a comment about the case. The next one was a man who was dismissed when he got ill. Don't know why the third guy was dismissed on Thursday, but that leaves three alternates.

The jury now consists of nine men and six women.

[HairOfTheDog]

Wednesday's surrebuttal witness is expected to be Dr. Robert Geffner. He's reportedly a colleague of Alyce LaViolette; he'll likely be trying to bolster LaViolette's assertions that Arias was abused and traumatized while countering Demarte's testimony that Arias deliberately planned and executed the murder and has borderline personality disorder.

Should be an interesting cross-examination, if nothing else.

Here's the info on Geffner.


Robert Geffner, Ph.D. ABPP, ABPN
Founding President of the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute in San Diego, CA; Founding President of Alliant International University’s (AIU) Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT); Clinical Research Professor of Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology, AIU, San Diego; Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in California and Texas; Editor of three internationally disseminated journals and Co-Editor of one; and former clinical director of a large private practice mental health clinic in East Texas for over 15 years. He has a Diplomate in Clinical Neuropsychology and one in Family Psychology. He served as an adjunct faculty member for the National Judicial College for 10 years, and was a former Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Tyler for 16 years. Dr. Geffner is the President of the Trauma Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. He has been a researcher, trainer, practitioner, and consultant for more than 30 years.

[HairOfTheDog]

Details being released about the dismissed jurors:

Juror 5 - The woman who was booted:
Meliha Omanovic was reportedly asked to leave because of a casual comment she made during the testimony of an expert witness for the defense. As Dr. Richard Samuels explained to the court that he was making $300 an hour for his services as a witness for the defense, Omanovic told another juror, "For $300 bucks per hour you'd think that they could get us better chairs to sit in," according to NBC 12 News.

Juror 8 - The man who was dismissed last Thursday:
It's been confirmed that Daniel Gibb was just recently arrested for a DUI; that's why he was dismissed.

He told media, "It was a privilege to know the other jurors and I will miss them," Gibb said in a statement to KNXV. "It was actually a great experience. Thank you for respecting my privacy."

Note: Didn't see anything more released about Juror 11, the man who was the second juror dismissed (due to illness).

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, today's supposed to be the last day of testimony in the Capital Murder trial of Jodi Arias.

Today's Schedule:
Court starts at 9 am PST and Judge Stephens says they'll keep going until all witnesses finish testifying (which includes direct, cross examination, redirect, jury question...).

I think that it's gonna be a very long day.

Today's First Witness:
Surrebuttal witness, Dr. Richard Geffner.

Today's Other Witness(s)?:
HLN reported yesterday that Martinez might be wanting to call a rebuttal witness to rebut Dr. Geffner's testimony, who will be rebutting the testimony of Dr. Demarte, who rebutted the testimony of LaViolette and Dr. Samuels.

I hope Martinez doesn't put another shrink on the stand. I kinda wish he'd let the psychological aspect of the trial end when he squashed the credibility and testimony of Samuels and LaViolette, and hadn't put Demarte on the stand (though I thought she was a good witness).

I understand opposing views on this, but I don't think it matters much if the jury sees Jodi as having BPD (rather than battered woman syndrome + PTSD). If they find her guilty of premeditated murder, they won't sentence her to death if they believe she's psychologically disordered in any way. JMO.

So, on with the finale to this 5 month, $1.6 million taxpayer-financed defense...

[BlueTiki]

Wednesday's surrebuttal witness is expected to be Dr. Robert Geffner. He's reportedly a colleague of Alyce LaViolette; he'll likely be trying to bolster LaViolette's assertions that Arias was abused and traumatized while countering Demarte's testimony that Arias deliberately planned and executed the murder and has borderline personality disorder.

He edited her "scholarly" publication - Domestic Violence Offenders: Current Interventions, Research, and Implications for Policies and Standards.

Gosh . . . since Dr. G has such impeccable credentials, it's odd he instead of Alyce wasn't Arias' star witness.

Hell . . . as a PhD he could have saved AZ taxpayers a boat load of cash by replacing BOTH Samuels and LaViolette.

[HairOfTheDog]

Gosh . . . since Dr. G has such impeccable credentials, it's odd he instead of Alyce wasn't Arias' star witness.

Hell . . . as a PhD he could have saved AZ taxpayers a boat load of cash by replacing BOTH Samuels and LaViolette.

Hmm, now I'm wondering if Geffner was one of the 6 or 7 experts that reportedly declined before the defense was able to secure LaViolette? Could very well be; I could see him being unable/unwilling to testify to a (laughable) diagnosis that would be beneficial to Arias, but willing to testify regarding testing protocols and interpretation of test results.

So far, Geffner strikes me as much more qualified, credible and professional than Alyce and Dick. But, he's not helping Arias, hurting Demarte, or bolstering LaViolette thus far; really don't see how he can with any legitimacy.

Hope Willmott wraps him up soon.

[BlueTiki]

Hmm, now I'm wondering if Geffner was one of the 6 or 7 experts that reportedly declined before the defense was able to secure LaViolette? Could very well be . . .

So far, Geffner strikes me as much more qualified, credible and professional than Alyce and Dick.

I'd back your supposition 100 percent!

Ima gonna guess Dr. G suggested LaViolette to the defense team.

I believe the aged and seasoned Geffner is strictly a foil to the young and bright DeMarte.

Samuels' and LaViolette's opinions are beyond repair.

[HairOfTheDog]

I wonder if the jury feels the way I do; enough already. We know that the defense is slinging the traumatized battered woman self defense hash. We know that the prosecution contends that their hash is bunk.

Today, Wilmott's hypothetical scenarios to Geffner include the assumption that Arias had PTSD BEFORE she killed Travis (as a result of abuse). Previously, the defense's "PTSD" diagnosis was used to explain why she lied (and that it had set in after the murder).

Some of this sounds like new territory/theory to me, not simply surrebuttal. I don't have a problem with Geffner, but this subject matter all just seems needless and irrelevant to me at this point.

Maybe I'm missing something; a no-doze might be in order.

[username]

No. I think the jury is probably disregarding most of the expert opinion at this point. I think if I were on the jury I'd try to keep an open mind but I think I would have already come to my conclusion and one more expert wouldn't cause me to reverse course at this stage. Might have been different if they'd put this guy up earlier but the damage has been done.

[HairOfTheDog]

If I get where Willmott is going, looks like she's getting ready to use Geffner's brain expertise to rebut ME Horn's testimony about gunshot wounds and how they do/don't impact the victim's motor functions.

[BlueTiki]

Ouch!

While testifying as an expert, a trial court judge in TN stated that Dr. G's testimony was completely without merit.

Court claimed he was a "hired gun".

And in HI, the court also excluded part of his testimony.

It appears that Martinez is introducing a published article supporting DeMarte's conclusion of BPD as indicated by Arias' MMPI 2.

Martinez's postition is that Arias' test results were skewed (due to malingering) because she had something to gain.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think Geffner's testimony that Travis may not have been incapacitated from the gunshot wound is helpful to Arias.

The fact that Flores apparently misunderstood Horn's opinion that the gunshot wound came last (and that Flores previously stated that it came first) is a weak point for the prosecution that can be exploited, imo.

It's important that Martinez convince the jury that the stabbing came first. The stabs to the back and number of stab wounds contradict self defense, especially with a post-stabbing gunshot wound. It can only mean heinous cruelty and overkill, which is needed for the death penalty. If anyone on the jury believes it's possible that Arias shot first just to stop Travis and then went into a fog and butchered him after he came at her, it's a huge success for the defense.

Hope Martinez's cross is very strong in regards to the gunshot wound.

[HairOfTheDog]

Ouch!

Geez, HLN is so far behind the live trial.

Martinez is really tearing into Geffner. It's working; Geffner's looking very different in my eyes.

Really didn't think Geffner's psych testimony mattered much anyway, but his opinion about the gunshot wound concerns me. Relieved that Martinez is undermining his credibility and hope Geffner stumbles when crossed specifically about his testimony regarding the brain.

[BlueTiki]

The good Dr. G's testimony is costing the AZ taxpayers $13,000.

And the sonofabitch didn't even examine her or administer diagnostics.

[HairOfTheDog]

I thought that he came across as a very credible witness on direct. But, he's terrible where it really matters, under cross-examination.

Not worried about him helping Arias anymore; Geffner's looking like an over-priced stooge in Martinez's hands (and I'm overlooking the two water spills and burping incidents on the stand).

Just read the jury questions via HLN live tweets; the jurors are really paying attention:
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/05/01/...s-lifeline

[username]

I would hate to be cross examined by Martinez. Holy hell.

[dab]

Can someone in detail explain the photo 5:32:16. What is it we see really? I know its supposed to be the suspects foot in there.I cant make out an arm. I do see some fabric to the left.
Any answers appreciated.

[HairOfTheDog]

Can someone in detail explain the photo 5:32:16. What is it we see really? I know its supposed to be the suspects foot in there.I cant make out an arm. I do see some fabric to the left.
Any answers appreciated.

I can't see any more in the picture than what you described, dab. But, it was described by the prosecution as depicting Jodi dragging a bloody Travis by the shoulder, IIRC. That description was not disputed by the defense.

Welcome to Mock. Please start a thread to introduce yourself. Just go to "Introductions" in the "Management and Newbie Bullshit" forum; it's self-explanatory from there.

[Jimbone]

Hey dab, can you describe Jodi's nudes for us is detail?

HotD... I'll never understand why it didn't work out between us, but your new mod status is super sexy.

[HairOfTheDog]

After Geffner's testimony, Martinez called the ME, Dr. Horn, back to the stand to rebut Geffner's testimony regarding the gunshot impacts to the brain.


HORN RECAP:
-Dr. Horn testified again regarding his opinion that the gunshot to Travis's brain would have incapacitated him within a second. Martinez showed the jury the autopsy photos again.
-Horn also restated that there was not bleeding in the brain, either because Travis had already bled out or was deceased when he was shot.
-Horn admitted that he had made a mistake/typo on a standard form when he originally indicated that the membrane around Travis's brain was still in tact.