A woman convicted of murder in Arizona is suing her former defense attorney, claiming that the lawyer "unjustly enriched himself" by publishing a book about the case, AZCentral reported.
Jodi Arias filed a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against attorney L. Kirk Nurmi. According to the lawsuit, Nurmi, who headed Arias’ legal team during her 2013 and 2015 murder trials, violated attorney-client privilege and profited by publishing a book about the case before she could file an appeal, AZCentral reported.
Arias was convicted in 2015 for the 2008 murder of Travis Alexander, AZCentral reported. She was given a life sentence. For the second time, a jury was unable to unanimously decide between a life sentence and the death penalty; a jury in 2014 also deadlocked. Although the vote was 11-1 in favor of death, the impasse could not be broken. Under state law, Arias cannot be tried again and must be sentenced to life in prison, AZCentral reported.
In an emailed statement, Nurmi said that when Arias failed to control the case, she tried to ruin his career and reputation.
“Standing up to the abuse Ms. Arias imparted upon me over the years was an important part of my personal transformation and I will continue to fight this battle with vigor as I defend against this lawsuit which is best viewed as a continuation of Ms. Arias’ pattern of attacking men whom she feels have wronged her," Nurmi wrote.
"Of course, no one person has suffered at the hands of Ms. Arias (more) than Mr. Alexander and I look forward to clearing the air on all the derogatory assertions that Ms. Arias made about him as I defend against the outrageous claims made in this lawsuit."
Nurmi's book, which he titled “Trapped with Ms. Arias” in part because Arias hated being called “Ms. Arias,” already has led to Nurmi's disbarment.
As a consequence, the lawsuit asks that Nurmi pay Arias all of the money he received for the book, whether through book sales or appearance fees.
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