PHOENIX --
The first jury question is harmless: Did Travis Alexander pay for his trip with Judy Arias?
The answer is, they went "50-fifty.
"But the second question is why Arias put his camera in the washing machine after Alexander was killed, which shows where the problem will go.
Arias has repeatedly said that after Alexander charged her, she had no memory and she accidentally hit him in the head.
The jury did not seem to believe her.
By the end of Wednesday, when the question shifts to "have you asked for help with your mental condition ? "?
"There seems to be a juror laughing at her.
When the trial on that day was interrupted, Shirley Stephens, judge of the High Court of Maricopa County, had read more than 150 questions.
She and counsel have ruled out places that are inappropriate or are excluded from the trial.
They only passed twice, though.
There are three in total, says Stephens.
The 32-year-old has been tried for killing Alexander in June 2008.
He was found dead in a shower at Mesa's house, with a bullet in his head, 27 knife wounds and a tear in his throat.
Arias claims she killed Alexander in suicide.
The defense, if she is found guilty, could face the death penalty. degree murder.
Arizona is one of the few states that allow jurors in criminal trials to ask questions to trial witnesses.
When the witness testified, the juror wrote down the questions on the special form, which were placed in the basket on the railing in front of the jury box.
Then, after the witness left the court, the judge, the prosecutor and the defense counsel discussed whether the issue was appropriate or not.
The judge read the question aloud and the witness answered the question directly in dialogue with the jury.
After that, the prosecutor and defense counsel may ask further questions to the witness to clarify his or her answer.
But there are usually only a few questions per witness. -
There are also several expert witnesses.
The law does not require defendants to testify on their own behalf, and usually their lawyers are reluctant to let them stand up so that they do not convict themselves or "open the door" into harmful areas that have been excluded --
Restrictions on judges.
When the accused testified, their lawyers often reluctantly allowed them to claim
A defense or other defense of the defendant's mental state needs to be explained.
Even so, although no one keeps such statistics, the respondent usually does not spend more than a few days in the testimony.
Arias has been in court for 17 days in the past five weeks, and the testimony is shocking.
Day after day, jurors listened to detailed descriptions of wild sex, including sodomy, role-playing, and the use of sex toys.
They listened to the dirty phone conversation and watched some photos that were almost pornographic.
They are not happy.
Some of the questions they read on Wednesday were rhetorical: they asked something --
How did they tell Arias when she was lying and when she was not.
They asked her about the memory lost by the killing she described as "fog.
"They wanted to know if the TV interview she received after her arrest was paid.
They wanted to know how different her June 4, 2008 and Alexander battles were from the rest of Arias and Alexander's, so much so that she felt she had to kill him.
They asked for details: how did she stand on the shelf and retrieve Alexander's gun from the closet when nothing seemed to be disturbed in the closet?
Why didn't she run after shooting Alexander?
Why wouldn't she call the police?
They are clearly plagued by this gender: Alexander calls her the word "skank" and what is her understanding?
How many men would she like to associate with at a time?
If she doesn't like sodomy, why is she doing sodomy?
If Alexander is not going to marry him, why should she continue to see him?
Even though Arias said she did not remember the details of the killing, they tried to trip her up: was she angry with Alexander when she stabbed him?
Did she clean up the crime scene?
Why did she put his body back in the shower after she killed him?
These questions are more important than the answers, which are basically consistent with arias's testimony.
She spoke very quickly and answered perhaps too well. although the tone of the question was becoming more and more negative, she remained optimistic.
There is more to be done on Thursday, and as the jurors continue, they have considered more.
When these questions are answered, counsel will ask more of their own questions before Arias leaves the court and the trial is transferred to the new witness.