Sherry K. Stephens

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Sherry K. Stephens
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Current Court Information:
Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona
Title:   Judge
Position:   Criminal Division
Personal History
Undergraduate:   Arizona State University
Law School:   Arizona State University
Candidate 2012:
Candidate for:  Maricopa County Superior Court
State:  Arizona
Election information 2012:
Incumbent:  Yes
Election date:  November 6, 2012
Retention vote:  419,994
Retention vote %:  73.22% ApprovedA

Contents

Sherry K. Stephens is a criminal court judge (Southeast Division) for the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona.[1]

Education

Stephens received her undergraduate degree and her J.D. from Arizona State University. [2]

Career

Stephens is a Superior Court judge for Maricopa County. She previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Arizona Attorney General's Office Organized Crime and Fraud Section. [2]

Awards and associations

Associations

  • Past chair, Arizona State Bar Public Lawyers Section
  • Community Legal Services Volunteer Lawyers Program [2]

2012 election

Stephens was retained with 73.22% of the vote in the general election on November 6th.[3][4]

See also: Arizona judicial elections, 2012

Notable cases

Judge Stephens presides over murder trial of Jodi Arias

March 12, 2013
Judge Sherry K. Stephens is presiding over the highly-publicized trial of Jodi Arias, who is charged with brutally murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, a Mormon motivational speaker, in 2008. Alexander was shot in the head, stabbed 27 times and had his throat slit.


Arias admitted to the murder, but claims it was done out of self-defense. Prosecutors are arguing that it was premeditated and done out of jealous anger. She is facing the death penalty, after a motion by the defense to remove such a penalty was denied by Judge Stephens.


Arizona is one of the few states that allows jurors to ask questions of the witnesses. Many questions were posed to Arias. A few raunchy details about her and Alexander's relationship were revealed, but no strong evidence supporting her claims of self defense have been brought to light so far.[5][6][7]


Update: On May 8, 2013, the jury in the case found Arias guilty of first-degree murder. [8] On May 22, a mistrial was declared and the jury dismissed after it failed to reach a consensus on sentencing. A new jury will be convened on July 18 to deliberate about a sentence. If that jury also cannot reach a unanimous consensus, it will be up to Judge Stephens to determine whether Arias receives life in prison or eligibility for parole after twenty-five years. [9]


External links

References

  1. ↑ Judge Stephens biography
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Maricopa County Court Bio
  3. ↑ Maricopa County 2012 Unofficial Election Results
  4. ↑ Arizona Courts, Judicial Performance Evaluations: Retention List 2012
  5. ↑ CBS News - Crimesider, "Jodi Arias Trial: Woman charged in ex-boyfriend's murder answers juror questions", March 6, 2013
  6. ↑ Business Insider, "Meet The 32-Year-Old At The Center Of The Incredibly Salacious Mormon Murder Trial", March 9, 2013
  7. ↑ Huffington Post, "Jodi Arias, Accused Of Stabbing Ex-Boyfriend 27 Times, Will Face Death Penalty", February 10, 2012
  8. ↑ CNN.com, "Jury finds Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder," May 9, 2013
  9. ↑ Washington Post, "Jury deadlocks on life term or death for Jodi Arias; judge declares mistrial in penalty phase," May 23, 2013
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