Jodi Arias Trial Update Today:  Court papers say Maricopa Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens rejected a bid earlier this month that would have spared convicted murderer Jodi Arias the death penalty in the 2008 slaying of her ex-boyfriend. The Jodi Arias trial has been pushed back from March 17 while reports are flying that Jodi Arias might have to get new lawyers.

Attorneys for Jodi Arias had argued that the Arizona law allowing a retrial of the penalty phase is unconstitutional. Jodi Arias' lawyers said a retrial should be considered cruel and unusual punishment, while amounting to double jeopardy.

Stephens wrote, "Arizona's capital scheme has been found to be constitutional by the United States Supreme Court and the Arizona Supreme Court."

The Jodi Arias retrial is being delayed because Juan Martinez, the prosecutor in the Arias case, will be busy with another trial that conflicts with Jodi Arias' retrial. The trial is the oldest capital murder case in Maricopa County and may also be a death penalty trial.

According to the Arizona Republic, Juan Martinez is scheduled to begin the trial on May 12.

Jodi Arias might have to get new lawyers after motions were filed this week. Jodi Arias doesn't want the new jury to know she had problems with one of her attorneys or former cellmate who claimed Arias told her she wanted to have prosecutor Juan Martinez killed.

Judge Sherry Stephens denied two motions by Jodi Arias to fire her lead attorney, Kirk Nurmi.

Jodi Arias delivered a twelve page handwritten letter saying that she no longer trusts her lawyer Kirk Nurmi. Arias says that she hasn't seen the Nurmi since the end of the first phase of the trial on May 23. Jodi Arias' complaint says he "does not listen or respond to my concerns."

Cassandra Collins's, Jodi Arias' cellmate claimed that the convicted murderer said she wanted to give the prosecutor a "Mafia Bowtie," slang for cutting his throat. Jodi Arias was convicted of cutting the throat of Travis Alexander. Jodi Arias says her former cellmate's claims are lies.

Welty left the rescheduling of Arias' penalty phase retrial to Judge Sherry Stephens, but there is no word so far on when that will happen.

The 33-year-old Arias was convicted last May of killing her boyfriend at his suburban Phoenix home in 2008, but the jury couldn't reach a verdict on her sentence.

Because of the excessive publicity, Jodi Arias attorneys have already filed motions requesting that the sentencing phase of the trial be moved out of the Phoenix area. Jodi Arias' lawyers filed a motion for a change of venue after finding that 70 percent of the media coverage in the state started in Maricopa County. Lawyers also want Jodi Arias trial live stream television coverage prohibited for the retrial.

Jodi Arias' lawyers also requested the names of jurors' Twitter accounts. The attorneys for Jodi Arias want to monitor the jurors' Twitter accounts to make sure they're not tweeting details about the Jodi Arias murder trial on the social media site.

Jodi Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013 in the June 2008 death of Travis Alexander, but the jury couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether to sentence the former waitress to death or life in prison.

Alexander was found murdered in the shower of his Mesa, Ariz., home in June 2008. Alexander's throat had been violently slit, he was stabbed 27 times and shot in the head.

The Jodi Arias trial hypnotized America as details emerged about the couple's sex life. Jodi Arias took the stand for 18 days to testify that killed Alexander in self-defense. Arias said Travis Alexander was given to fits of terror and that he had an outburst after she dropped a camera while they were shooting a sexy video.