Lawyer for Jodi Arias filed a motion today seeking all the Twitter accounts and Twitter handles of jurors picked for her upcoming penalty-phase redo.
Arias and her lawyers are concerned that jurors may be improperly influenced by Twitter conversations they received, or from tweets sent to them, the motion obtained by New Times states.
See also: - Psycho Killer: Jodi Arias' Kinky Death-Penalty Trial - Jodi Arias Jury Done -- No Decision on Death Penalty; Mistrial of Penalty Phase Declared; State Wants to Retry
The celebrity killer was convicted of murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, but the jury deadlocked on whether she should received the death penalty, forcing a mistrial on May 23. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens, based on a request from County Attorney Bill Montgomery's office, said she would convene a new jury for the redo sometime in late September.
Lawyers Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi wrote in the motion that the possibility of tweets influencing the jury isn't that far-fetched, and they give the example of a former juror in the Arias case, Tara Kelley.
Kelley was juror No. 17 and ultimately chosen as an alternate. While on the panel, she chatted on Twitter and "even had contact via Twitter with a member of the media." She also had a conversation on Facebook about Arias' "temper," and seemed to misunderstand juror instructions regarding electronic communication, the motion states.
An attachment to the motion shows a Twitter thread that includes the statement by another tweeter that if Arias "does have Latina blood, it may explain a temper lol."
Kelley responded, "You are so right Danie! They don't get it. lol"
"Twitter provides those who would like to influence Ms. Arias' jury with the means to do so in a way that could go undetected should this motion be denied," the lawyers wrote. "Thus... Ms. Arias requests that this court compel all jurors seated in her retrial to disclose their Twitter accounts and /or twitter handles so that she can monitor any possible intrusions."
Facebook, although mentioned in the examples, apparently isn't as much of a concern to Arias. But she certainly knows the power of Twitter, given that she's been running her own account (with outside help) from jail.
