SOUTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — Charlie Adelson's defense attorney argued Tuesday that his client deserves a new trial, claiming the jury was tainted by extensive pre-trial publicity surrounding the Dan Markel murder case.
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Michael Ufferman, representing Adelson, along with Laurel Cornell Niles, told the appellate court that 40% of potential jurors screened already had preconceived notions about his client's guilt. He argued this level of bias made it impossible to select an impartial jury.
"When you talk about 40%, when you talk about the judge making a finding when granting the protective order pre-trial, that Tallahassee is in fact a small community," Ufferman said during the hearing. "When you talk about this case has been permeating Tallahassee media sources for almost a decade at the time of this trial."
Ufferman pointed to specific instances where potential jurors allegedly lied about their knowledge of the case. He cited two examples where jurors denied forming opinions about guilt or posting on social media, despite evidence showing they had made posts about the case.
"Where that juror had said, surprise, surprise, Mr. Adelson is charged," Ufferman said, citing an example.
However, Judge Lori S. Rowe questioned the defense's claims, noting that no affidavits had been filed prior to trial to document the alleged media exposure and bias.
"What you don't have in this record is how many times those exposures happened, whether they were biased or not, whether there were some broadcasts or podcasts that in fact argued that your client was innocent," Rowe said.
Criminal defense attorney, Tim Jansen, who has been following the case, acknowledged the challenge of determining when jurors are being dishonest.
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"The question is, was it the saturation or not? 10 years of a trial, five trials, these jurors claiming, was that enough that he didn't get a fair jury? That's a good question," Jansen said.
The state countered Ufferman's arguments, with prosecutor Robert Charlie Lee defending the jury selection process. Lee argued that isolated incidents don't prove the entire jury pool was compromised.
"Just because this young man said that Mr. Adelson (1:55) was guilty and another man may have forgotten what he posted on Facebook about Mr. Garcia, that doesn't mean that the entire jury pool was tainted," Lee said.
Lee also noted that Adelson and his counsel agreed to the selected jury during the original trial.
Following the hearing, Ufferman maintained his position that a new trial is necessary due to jury contamination.
"We need to have confidence that the jury, the 12 jurors that ultimately determined my client's guilt, were not improperly exposed to other jurors' opinions about my client's guilt and could be impartial," Ufferman said. "And I have severe doubts as to whether or not that occurred in this case."
Adelson is one of five people to be convicted for the murder of Dan Markel. His mother, Donna Adelson, was the most recent person to be convicted in September 2025. Other people who have been convicted include Charlie Adelson's ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, and the two hitmen, Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia.
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