Portions of ethics charges tossed against Arizona prosecutor
Juan Martinez (file)
PHOENIX - A judge has thrown out portions of an ethics complaint against the prosecutor who won convictions in the Jodi Arias murder case and other notorious killings in metro Phoenix.
Maricopa County prosecutor Juan Martinez was scheduled to undergo an attorney-discipline hearing this week, but it was postponed after a ruling Friday threw out two allegations against the prosecutor.
Presiding Disciplinary Judge William O’Neil tossed allegations that Martinez made sexually inappropriate comments to female law clerks in his office and had inappropriate contact with a woman who had been dismissed from Arias’ jury and later texted nude photos of herself to Martinez.
The ruling didn’t explain O’Neil’s reasons for throwing out the two allegations. The judge is expected to explain his reasons in a future filing.
Other allegations within the ethics complaint remain against Martinez.
One of the remaining allegations accuses Martinez of leaking another juror’s identity to a blogger with whom Martinez was having a sexual relationship and lying to investigators about it.
He also is accused of frequently staring at a court reporter during the Arias trial and making comments about her appearance that made her feel uncomfortable.
If a three-person panel of the Arizona courts finds that Martinez violated the rules of conduct for attorneys, he could face a wide range of punishments, including a reprimand, suspension or disbarment.
In April 2018, Martinez was reprimanded by Maricopa County Bill Montgomery’s office for inappropriate and unprofessional conduct toward female law clerks.
The reprimand said Martinez had persistently asked law clerks to lunch even after they declined, commented on their appearance, making sexually suggestive stares and touching them in unwelcome but nonsexual ways.
Arias is serving a life sentence after her first-degree murder conviction in the death of Travis Alexander at his home in Mesa.
The case turned into a media circus as salacious and violent details about Arias and Alexander were broadcast live around the world.
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