Attorneys picking jury in retrial of convicted murderer Jodi Arias as prosecutors seek death

PHOENIX – Attorneys working to pick a jury for the penalty retrial of convicted murderer Jodi Arias have cut more than 50 per cent of 400 potential panelists called in this week, many who said they knew too much about the case to be impartial or had already made up their minds about her punishment.

About 100 prospective jurors were brought in Wednesday after 300 were queried on Monday, leaving roughly 175 people as attorneys begin the process of whittling down the group further using questionnaires each person was asked to complete.

Arias was convicted of murder last year in the 2008 killing of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home, but jurors couldn’t agree on a sentence.

Prosecutors have one more shot with the new jury to secure the death penalty, otherwise Arias faces life in prison. The retrial is expected to last into December.

Meanwhile, defence attorneys on Wednesday filed a motion seeking to dismiss the death penalty as an option, citing prosecutorial misconduct, among other things.

The filing reiterates previous allegations that prosecutors have withheld evidence in the case and have failed to disclose witnesses in a timely manner. The motion was first reported by The Arizona Republic before being made public later in the day.

Prosecutors declined to comment on Wednesday.

The judge has previously denied numerous motions by the defence to dismiss the death penalty as an option. A hearing is set for mid-October for arguments over yet another similar motion.

The judge also has repeatedly denied defence motions to move the trial out of Phoenix and to sequester the jury.

Such a flurry of motions by defence attorneys in the days leading up to a trial is common, particularly in death penalty cases, as lawyers work to build grounds for appeal.