A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has postponed the Jodi Arias' sentencing trial while a higher court considers a ruling on the controversy over secret witness testimony.

The controversy began on Oct. 30 when Judge Sherry Stephens kicked the media and public out of the courtroom during the trial without explanation, just before an unidentified witness took the stand. In response, a media coalition, which included The Arizona Republic and 12 News, filed an appeal in order to regain access to the trial.

On Monday, a three-judge panel at the Arizona Court of Appeals placed that decision on hold, re-opening the courtroom to both journalists and the public, reports AZ Central.

The delay is the result of an Arizona appeals court ruling that stays a decision by Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens to ban media and the public from the courtroom for testimony from the first witness called by Arias' defense.

After meeting with attorneys from both sides, on Tuesday the judge delayed witness testimony until at least Nov. 12, according to The Arizona Republic. By then, the controversy over making the trial secret should be resolved by higher courts, reports Radar Online.

The attorney representing the media argued that conducting a trial behind closed doors and shrouded in secrecy would set a new precedent in the U.S. legal system.

"We have just heard the risk of being kept in perpetual confusion, and darkness looms in this case unless the court steps in and enforces the first amendment rights of the press and public," said attorney David Bodney, according to Fox 10 Arizona.

He added that exclusion of the press and public violated the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions, along with the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. Not only does the state and the defendant have a right to a public trial, but "it's the public's right to a fair trial," too, Bodney noted.

On the other hand, Arias' attorney countered that his witnesses don't feel comfortable testifying on behalf of Arias in public and feared for their reputations, livelihoods and lives.

"All mitigation witnesses, to the point where no viable case can be put forward, were threatened to the point they would not come forward and testify, and all defense witnesses were threatened," Kirk Nurmi said. "There are certain witnesses who feel threatened."

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