Michael Kiefer

The Republic | azcentral.com

Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Juan Martinez, who became a national icon for his aggressive prosecution of Jodi Arias, has been admonished by the State Bar of Arizona for the same behavior that made him famous.

In a document released Thursday, the Attorney Discipline Probable Cause Committee of the Arizona Supreme Court ordered that Martinez be placed on probation for a year.

An admonition is considered informal discipline — as opposed to reprimand, suspension or disbarment.

The order states that Martinez violated three Supreme Court rules governing the conduct of attorneys:

Engaging in unprofessional conduct.

Using means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden any other person, or using methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person by, among other things, improperly attacking the defendant.

Engaging in professional misconduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

MORE: Jodi Arias: Her trial, conviction, photos and videos

The initial charges were filed last December by Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, an association of criminal defense attorneys. The 27-page charge detailed Martinez' actions in 11 murder cases — including the Arias case — going back a decade. The charges were vetted by the Bar, then passed to the Supreme Court's Attorney Discipline Probable Cause Committee.

The order of admonition did not refer to specific cases Martinez prosecuted, and the Bar does not comment on details.

Instead, a statement from the State Bar said simply that the admonition was issued "for inappropriate statements made by Mr. Martinez during various trials or other legal proceedings. In some instances, these statements were found to be unprofessional or otherwise improper by the Arizona Supreme Court but did not require a reversal of the underlying criminal cases."

Martinez has 10 days to appeal the admonition. If he does, the matter will go to a formal hearing.

Neither Martinez nor the County Attorney's Office have indicated whether he will appeal.

Still pending is another Bar charge lodged against Martinez for publishing a book about the Arias case before it has gone to appeal.