Opinion ID: 4530412
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State v. Morris

Text: ¶10 Martinez prosecuted the defendant in 2005 for murdering five women. Following conviction, Morris was sentenced to death. On direct appeal, this Court reviewed Martinez’s remarks on the “putrid” odor of one victim’s jacket—offered by Martinez to the jury for its “smelling pleasure”—and concluded that they were “inappropriate,” but not misconduct. State v. Morris, 215 Ariz. 324, 338 ¶¶ 62–64 (2007). ¶11 We also reviewed Martinez’s interaction with the jury during argument, including his singling out members of the jury based on their appearance and gender and addressing them personally. Id. at 337–38 ¶¶ 57–61. For example, Martinez queried: [W]hich one of you wants to volunteer? I want a show of hands on this one. Which one of you ladies—and we don’t need guys on this one, because he didn’t take guys. He only took women. Which one of you want [sic] to volunteer to come sit here and have the defendant sit himself on your chest and say, Oh, that didn’t hurt? Because the defense attorney is saying throw common sense out of [the] window. Which one? I challenge anybody to say, That is something I want to do. And anyway, and on top of that, while he’s sitting on my chest, which one of you, since the one lower left-hand side has the longer hair of the jurors, 4 IN RE JUAN M. MARTINEZ Opinion of the Court maybe she wants to have him grab her hair while he’s sitting on her chest . . . to grab it and pull it around her neck. You think that’s not going to hurt? You think one of you guys is going to volunteer for that? You can’t leave your common sense aside. [Defense counsel] wants you to because he makes these arguments and says, well, we don’t know what is in their heads. We don’t know what is in Juror Number 1’s head. Can you tell me you don’t think it’s not going to hurt when he sits on you? Hey, Juror Number 1 or Juror Number 14, whatever it is, what if we put [the] Winnie the Pooh tie around your neck? Are you going to enjoy that? Are you going to like it? Going to feel real good when you can’t breathe? Id. at 337 ¶ 58 n.6. We concluded that Martinez’s comments constituted misconduct because he impermissibly inflamed the jury’s sympathy for the victims and exploited its fear of the defendant. Id. ¶ 58.