Adelson v. State
In the high-profile Dan Markel murder prosecution, the First DCA affirmed Charles Adelson's convictions for first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, rejecting his challenges to the denial of a change of venue and a motion to strike the jury venire. The court held both claims were unpreserved because defense counsel failed to comply with the written-motion requirements of Rules 3.240 and 3.290 and failed to renew the objections before the jury was sworn, and further held that no fundamental error occurred given the trial court's careful individual voir dire and the absence of evidence that pretrial publicity (including modern podcast/social media coverage) saturated the community.
Key facts
- Charles Adelson was convicted in trial court of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in connection with the Dan Markel murder case.
- Adelson appealed, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion for change of venue and motion to strike the jury venire based on pretrial publicity.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion gives practitioners a clear, current reaffirmation of the strict written-motion and renewal preservation requirements for change-of-venue and jury-panel-strike challenges, and signals that appellate courts… — full analysis with a trial
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