TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Charlie Adelson’s attorneys asked the First District Court of Appeal Tuesday to overturn his conviction in the 2014 murder for hire of his former brother-in-law, FSU law professor Dan Markel.
Adelson was found guilty in November 2023 and is serving a life sentence for his role in the plot.
Defense attorney Michael Ufferman argued Tuesday that Adelson was denied “a fair and impartial trial,” citing extensive pre-trial publicity spanning nearly 10 years.
“If there was ever a case for a change of venue, these facts are that case,” Ufferman told the appeals court.
Ufferman argued Tuesday that the jury pool was tainted and the judge should have tossed out an entire jury panel and granted a change of venue.
He cited potential jurors in one panel “talking about (the case) all day” and others “lying” about whether they had already formed an opinion about Adelson’s guilt.
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“I think it’s clear this 50 was tainted,” Ufferman said. “The fix was easy.”
However, prosecutors contend Adelson would have been convicted anywhere in Florida. Charlie Lee with the Florida Attorney General’s Office told the court Adelson ultimately accepted the jury pool and his conviction should stand.
“He’s entitled to an impartial jury; he’s not entitled to an impartial community or city or world,” Lee said.
It’s not clear when the First DCA will issue a ruling in Adelson’s appeal.
Charlie Adelson’s mother, Donna Adelson, also has an appeal pending before the court, which she filed in November following her conviction.
Three other people are also currently serving prison sentences in connection to the FSU law professor’s murder: convicted hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, along with convicted go-between Katherine Magbanua.
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