Charlie Adelson’s attorneys were in court Tuesday for an appeal for his conviction in the 2014 murder of Dan Markel.
His legal team argued to the Florida’s First District Court of Appeal that the trial court erred in failing to grant a change of venue and in not striking jurors due to media exposure.
Adelson was convicted of first-degree murder in 2023 and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder-for-hire plot that killed Markel.
Michael Ufferman, one of Adelson’s attorneys, argued Tallahassee residents largely knew about the Markel case. He also brought up a few jurors that got on the jury lied about being biased against Markel, then spoke to other jurors about their opinions before being kicked off before the verdict was given.
“If there was ever a case for a change of venue, these facts are that case,” he said.
The state argued that Adelson waived his claims by accepting the jury and that it is impossible to escape a jury that has some pre-judgement.
The decision from the court in the appeal is still pending.
