TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Scripps News Tallahassee) — Tuesday, Charlie Adelson’s defense attorney filed a motion asking a judge to interview the jurors who convicted Adelson of orchestrating the murder of FSU law professor, Dan Markel.
Charlie Adelson rubs his face as he waits for his defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum to present closing arguments in his trial for the murder of Dan Markel on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. Adelson, a Florida dentist on trial in a murder-for-hire case involving the 2014 slaying of his ex-brother-in-law, claims he was a victim of extortion by the killers. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, Pool)
Attorney, Daniel Rashbaum, filed the motion less than a day after the jury convicted Adelson. In the motion, Rashbaum says he was contacted by one of the three alternate jurors discharged before jury deliberations began. Rashbaum says that juror told him that several days before the conviction, one or more members of the jury asked all other jurors for their telephone numbers, after which some sort of group chat was established.
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The alternate juror did not know what was said within the group chat. That alternate juror said they thought the court should know about that group chat. He did not know if there were any discussions about the Adelson case within the group chat.
Rashbaum, in his motion, said, “we do not know – and, absent juror interviews, cannot know – what the substance of any extrinsic juror communications was, or if those communications involved outside information about the case or constituted premature deliberations.”
Rashbaum said Adelson is entitled to a fair trial before an impartial jury. He asked that the jurors involved be interviewed to ensure the integrity of the jury’s verdict in the case. Rashbaum says his team talked with counsel for the State about the interview request. In the motion, it says the State’s counsel opposes the relief requested in the motion.
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A jury found Charles Adelson guilty on three counts in connection with the death of Florida State professor Dan Markel.
Count 1 Guilty: First-degree murder.
Count 2 Guilty: Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Count 3 Guilty: Solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
Adelson was found guilty after less than four hours of deliberation.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Tallahassee, an E.W. Scripps Company.
