UPDATED BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Donna Adelson's trial begins Tuesday, however, Monday, Adelson was back in the court room for a last-minute hearing.
Judge Stephen Everett moved in favor to cancel the defense's subpoena of Donna Adelson's daughter, Wendi.
The motion to quash made by Wendi's attorney, John Lauro, who appeared over Zoom.
"I do believe it is the proper ruling at this point to quash the subpoena," said Judge Stephen Everett.
The motion said that Wendi Adelson would otherwise invoke her fifth amendment rights as the state's subpoena offers her protections and immunity, that the defense's subpoena does not.
Donna Adelson is on trial for first degree murder including solicitation and conspiracy in connection with the murder of FSU professor Dan Markel in 2014.
Adelson is accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot in Tallahassee after a divorce and custody battle.
Adelson has pleaded not guilty. Adelson's trial begins Tuesday.
State Attorney Jack Campbell said he expects jury selection to take two to three days.
Assistant State attorney, Georgia Cappleman, is prosecuting the case. She said the state will need between five to seven days to present their case.
"She knows the relative time each witness takes, how many questions they're going to ask, so she's able to kind of lay out," said Campbell.
At a final pre-trial hearing earlier this month, the defense said they will need between four to six days.
Of a trial of this magnitude, when do you expect it to sort of wrap up?
"So I would expect this to all in all take about three weeks," said Campbell.
Following that discussion about the motion Monday, Judge Everett issued a break before the a behind-closed-doors meeting continued. The trial will begin with jury selection at 8:30am on Tuesday.
ORIGINAL:
An emergency motion hearing was set Monday afternoon for Donna Adelson. Her trial is set to begin tomorrow, as jury selection will begin. Adelson is charged with orchestrating the murder for hire plot of her former son-in-law, Dan Markel, who was killed in 2014.
Judge Stephen Everett was joined by Donna Adelson, her attorneys Jackie Fulford and Joshua Zelman, prosecutors Georgia Cappleman and Sarah Kathryn Dugan, and Wendi Adelson’s attorney John Lauro by Zoom.
The hearing discussed one motion by Wendi to reject the defense subpoena from Adelson’s attorneys for her to testify in the trial. Wendi has testified under a state subpoena in previous prosecutions of this case.
The motion says Wendi would otherwise invoke her Fifth Amendment rights as “the state subpoena affords Wendi Adelson use and derivative use immunity for her testimony in an instance where she would otherwise invoke her Fifth Amendment rights, while the defense subpoena provides no such protections.”
Judge Stephen Everett moved to reject the defense subpoena.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
