The First District Court of Appeal denied Charlie Adelson's motion to relinquish jurisdiction back to the trial court. Adelson was convicted in 2023 for the murder of FSU Law professor Dan Markel.
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Still a path forward for Charlie Adelson appeal after unfavorable court order
The court denied Adelson's motion to relinquish jurisdiction back to the trial court.
But, local criminal defense attorney Don Pumphrey says he still has a path forward in his appeal.
"This does not mean Charlie Adelson won't get a new trial," Pumphrey said. "They're in the beginning of the appellate phase. It was filed by appellate counsel to preserve the record and give the opportunity for the trial court to address it."
Adelson is appealing his conviction for the murder of his ex-brother-in-law Florida State Law Professor Dan Markel.
His attorney, Michael Ufferman, wrote in a motion filed in October that his client's trial was "infected" with conflict.
He wrote that Adelson's former attorney, Dan Rashbaum, tainted his trial due to his representation of his mother Donna.
Ufferman said Rashbaum operated under "...duties owed to his former client Donna Adelson, whose attorney-client relationship pre-dated Appellant Adelson's."
"If you're representing one person and the timing is that you're now going to represent a second person and you're making decisions that could impact both people, that's not due process," Pumphrey said. "That's not fair to the person on trial."
The state responded to that motion, writing that the motion went around typical criminal appeal procedure.
Tallahassee Bureau Chief of Criminal Appeals Trisha Meggs Pate writes that he could follow a 3.850 ineffective assistance of counsel claim, which she writes ".... should be handled as a post-conviction claim of ineffective assistance of counsel."
"The court may have felt for a number of reasons, may have felt that this is an issue that can be addressed after the appellate process or there may be an issue in the appellate process, but it no way effects if Charlie Adelson gets a new trial," Pumphrey said.
Ufferman has not yet filed an appellate brief to outline any alleged issues with the trial.
I reached out to Ufferman's office Monday to see what his next steps are in the case.
His office did not get back to me.
While Charlie continues with his appeal, a trial date for his mother Donna has yet to be set.
