Media seek transcript of shuttered Jodi Arias hearing

• Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens closes Arias trial at defendant's request
• Media demand to know the name of witness who testified%2C transcript of hearing
• "I am aware of the First Amendment%2C" judge tells attorney representing the journalists

What happened Thursday in the Jodi Arias sentencing retrial is anyone's guess. The Arizona Republic, 12 News and other media outlets filed a special-action appeal with the Arizona Court of Appeals late Thursday seeking to solve the mystery.

Just as she has done repeatedly in pretrial hearings, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens conducted most of the day in sidebars at her bench with the prosecutor and defense attorneys, their voices masked by a white-noise machine.

Then, as she has also done repeatedly in pretrial, she made the press and public leave the courtroom.

An unidentified witness, she said, refused to testify if the press and public were there. Arias' attorneys requested that the hearing be closed.

The Republic and sister media outlet 12 News objected, joined by local TV stations Channels 3 and 5. Reporters scrambled to get an attorney to an afternoon hearing.

Stephens was unyielding.

"I am aware of the First Amendment," she told attorney Chris Moeser, who represented the journalists.

The public and media were ejected from the courtroom, the cameras taken down. The testimony went forward behind locked doors, leaving nothing but speculation as to who was on the witness stand.

The media outlets later filed a special action, which is an expedited appeal, demanding a transcript of the proceeding and the identity of the witness.

"It's very peculiar," Moeser said after the hearing. "Since I've been an attorney, I'm not aware of a court being closed for testimony by an unidentified witness."

Federal and state law both call for criminal trials to be conducted in public.

Under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the press and public are granted access, according to media attorney Dan Barr, unless a judge finds that access can cause "irreparable damage to the defendant's right to a free trial" and there is no alternative.

"She has to make written findings so a court of appeals can evaluate her reasons," Barr said.

Furthermore, Barr notes, the Arizona Constitution says that, "Justice in all cases shall be administered openly, and without unnecessary delay."

And the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure say:

"All proceedings shall be open to the public, including representatives of the news media, unless the court finds, upon application of the defendant, that an open proceeding presents a clear and present danger to the defendant's right to a fair trial by an impartial jury;"

and:

"The court may, in its discretion, exclude all spectators except representatives of the press during the testimony of a witness whenever reasonably necessary to prevent embarrassment or emotional disturbance of the witness."

Last year, Arias, 34, was found guilty of the 2008 shooting and stabbing death of her lover, Travis Alexander. The first jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Arias should be sentenced to death or life in prison, triggering a retrial on the sentencing.

The sentencing retrial began Oct.21, and its first part was a recap of the facts of the crime and a summary of the evidence against Arias. That portion of the trial was completed Tuesday.

The mitigation portion of the trial apparently began Thursday. Mitigation is evidence about the defendant that her attorneys hope will persuade a jury to choose life over death.

But first, one of Alexander's sisters and one brother gave victim-
impact statements to the jury, essentially telling them how they have suffered from the death of their brother.

Tanisha Sorenson, Alexander's sister, cried as she told the jury about her post-traumatic stress disorder at seeing the crime-scene and autopsy photos.

Alexander was shot in the head and stabbed nearly 30 times. His throat was also slit.

By the time his body was found in the shower of his Mesa homes, he had been dead for five days.

"I do not want to see pictures of his slit throat," she said. "I do not want to see his blackened face," referring to the state of decomposition of the body.

"When we found out Travis was dead, we did not have Travis to comfort us," she said.

Alexander's younger brother, Steven, started by saying, "I remember thinking that Travis was bulletproof."

He said he had nightmares about Travis' death, "stab after stab, grabbing the knife, trying to save his life."

Under Arizona law, victims are not allowed to recommend what sentence they think the jury should impose in a death-penalty case.

The trial resumes Monday.