A Florida appeals court has upheld Charlie Adelson’s convictions and sentence in the 2014 murder of his former brother-in-law, FSU law professor Dan Markel.
www.wctv.tv
Florida appeals court upholds Charlie Adelson’s murder conviction in Dan Markel case
A Florida appeals court has upheld Charlie Adelson’s convictions and sentence in the 2014 murder of his former brother-in-law,
FSU law professor Dan Markel.
In a ruling dated July 1, the First District Court of Appeals affirmed Adelson’s convictions of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder in the 2014 killing of Markel.
Adelson is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the murder plot.
The court record revealed that
Adelson argued the trial court should have moved the trial due to widespread media coverage, allegedly making it impossible to seat an impartial jury.
However, the ruling indicates that the appellate court found those claims were not properly preserved for appeal due to his defense attorneys not filing the required written motions or renewing their objections before the jury was sworn.
Furthermore, he challenged the court’s refusal to strike the jury pool after some prospective jurors discussed the case during jury selection.
Adelson argued that there was reason to doubt that an impartial jury was seated in his case, pointing out that “of the ninety-six prospective jurors who heard about Markel’s murder, fifty-four had formed an opinion about Adelson’s guilt— with all but one believing that Adelson was guilty," the court record wrote.
But the court ruled that limited statements by prospective jurors about media coverage and discussions in the jury assembly room did not demonstrate that he was denied a fair trial.
The court ultimately affirmed the trial court’s judgment in full.
