Jodi Arias prosecutor placed on paid leave

Martinez dogged by harassment allegations

Juan Martinez, a longtime prosecutor of Maricopa County’s highest-profile murder cases, has been placed on paid administrative leave, the County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday night.

Martinez has faced years of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations.

“On Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, Juan Martinez was placed on paid administrative leave. We currently have no further comment on this personnel matter at this time,” according to a statement released by the office.

Martinez became a household name when he prosecuted Jodi Arias, who was convicted of killing Travis Alexander in his Mesa home in 2008. Besides Arias, Martinez has prosecuted other high-profile cases. He’s worked for the county for decades.

The announcement comes a few days after the State Bar of Arizona accused Presiding Disciplinary Judge William J. O’Neil of abuse of power because O’Neil decided Martinez would not face ethics charges for sexual harassment allegations by several women at the County Attorney’s Office.

In March 2019, the Bar filed a formal

misconduct complaint against Martinez. The complaint claimed Martinez harassed several women who worked at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the Maricopa County Superior Court. It also accused Martinez of having a relationship with a blogger during the Arias trial. “The allegations included making inappropriate comments, primarily to law clerks, which were of a sexual nature, engaging in unwanted touching and making persistent unwelcome invitations to go to lunch or on a date,” the state Bar’s formal complaint said.

According to the complaint, Martinez stared and commented on a female court reporter’s appearance while she was working during hearings in the Arias case. She also claimed he would make inappropriate comments.

Martinez has denied the allegations.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office investigated allegations of sexual harassment against Martinez in 2017. The investigation included interviewing 30 employees. Former Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery wrote in a letter in April that Martinez received a written reprimand in his file and mandatory training.

After Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Montgomery to the Arizona Supreme Court, prosecutor Rachel Mitchell was assigned to lead the County Attorney’s Office until the Board of Supervisors appointed Allister Adel county attorney.

Mitchell in September reassigned Martinez from the high-profile capital litigation bureau to the auto theft division. She said she moved him to give him time to focus on his disciplinary hearings. They are scheduled for April.

According to Adel spokeswoman Jennifer Liewer, Martinez then was moved to the Training Division after the auto theft bureau was rolled into that division.