The Jodi Arias case — previously a mainstay of cable news coverage and Lifetime TV movies — has gone almost completely dark as prosecutors pursue the death penalty for the second time.

Now media outlets are fighting to get back their access to the trial proceedings, which the judge has been conducting largely in private.

Arias was convicted of murdering her on-again off-again boyfriend in a highly publicized trial that ended May, but a jury was unable to decide unanimously whether to sentence her to life in prison or the death penalty.

The retrial was scheduled for July 18, but since the verdict, the case has fallen out of public view. Now, lawyers are challenging the judge, saying that conducting secret hearings and barring news cameras and electronic devices are violations of the public's constitutional rights.

Judge Sherry Stevens says her rulings are intended to allow Arias her right to an impartial jury.

According to the AP, the new trial date has not yet been set, but the judge has heard "arguments over sequestering the new jury, moving the case out of Phoenix, Arias' desire to fire her lead attorney and allowing live television coverage of the retrial, among other issues."

Although the only access arguments have been brought by the defense, the prosecutors told the AP they had no problem with opening the proceedings.

Ironically, even the hearings over media access have been closed to the media.

[image via AP]