Latina / Chicana Leaders Challenge Standards of Juan Martinez as the Deputy County Attorney for the "Serial Street Shooter" Case
Phoenix, AZ -- Somos Independents is an organization led by Mexican-American women leaders across this Nation. It is our understanding that lawyer Juan Martinez is still on probation. The Attorney Discipline Probable Cause Committee of the Arizona Supreme Court ordered prosecutor Juan Martinez placed on probation for a year last September 2016. That said, the Hispanic public expects much more from prosecutors and Martinez’s book released shortly after his Jodi Arias murder trial significantly risks undermining those expectations.
Though police have accused Aaron Saucedo of being the "Serial Street Shooter," prosecutors have not filed charges against him. That said, according to KJZZ, “Juan Martinez is listed as the deputy county attorney for the "Serial Street Shooter" case. Martinez prosecuted Jodi Arias in another high-profile case in the State of Arizona.” We believe standards should be set high with regard to the serial shooter case and the numerous ethical complaints against Martinez has us concerned. For instance, why is the State choosing a lawyer who has a long list of ethical complaints filed against him from organizations such as the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice? On another occasion and according to the AZ Central, “ … a bar charge lodged against Martinez accused him of violating ethical rules regarding "the existence and content of certain exhibits previously sealed by court order." Essentially, a bar complaint was filed (later dismissed) due to Martinez writing a book about his most famous case, the Jodi Arias murder trial.
Our question to the State is: Why is Juan Martinez the Deputy County Attorney for the Serial Shooter case where prosecutors wanted Court Case Records sealed from us in the public, but is that same lawyer who blabbed “when his book made general reference to the existence of sealed testimony and exhibits, the references did not contain specific content and was, in some circumstances, publicly available despite the court order(s) sealing the testimony and exhibits"?
Lydia Hernandez, a former Arizona State Representative and resident of Maryvale states:
As a community member, I question Juan Martinez’s authority in utilizing privileged information. I continue to feel concerned with how the Maryvale / Phoenix Serial Shooter case is moving forward. The suspect has not been charged but prosecutors have already assigned the prosecuting attorney. A prosecutor who has recently had ethics bar complaints filed against him is questionable to me. We need an ethical professional that has the public’s trust regarding making sure he is going to be the best professional on this case. We are talking about a capital murder case which involves many deaths. Our community cannot afford any mishaps. We need to raise the bar on this one.
According to the AZ CENTRAL:
The order states that Martinez violated three Supreme Court rules governing the conduct of attorneys:
- Engaging in unprofessional conduct.
- Using means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden any other person, or using methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person by, among other things, improperly attacking the defendant.
- Engaging in professional misconduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.
We believe the State should learn from Martinez’s past mistakes in the Jodi Arias case and not repeat them. The Chicano / Latino population deserve more in the way of public trust.
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