Charlie Adelson trial: Potential jurors dismissed on Day 3 of jury selection

4:45 p.m. update: A jury has been selected and opening arguments will begin Thursday morning. Reporter Jeff Burlew reports that it appears seven women and eight men will be serving on the jury. That includes three alternates.

Original story

Jury selection continued for the third day on Wednesday in the murder trial of Charlie Adelson, who's accused of hiring the two hit men who killed law professor Dan Markel in 2014.

Josh Dubin, an attorney and jury consultant working with Adelson's legal team, spent the morning questioning 21 prospective jurors. Before he began peppering possible jurors with questions Tuesday afternoon, he acknowledged moments of levity earlier in the day in the courtroom. He then took a serious tone as he laid the groundwork for the defense's case.

“To this man, this is no laughing matter," Dubin said of Adelson. "This man has pleaded not guilty, and with that plea, he’s saying, ‘I didn’t do it.’ ”

He asked whether any of them have ever had their phone calls recorded, sent an email or text that was misinterpreted or had a conversation that was overheard.

"Does anyone find it unusual that the wrong conclusion can be reached by listening to to people's conversations without actually knowing ... what they mean and what they're talking about?" Dubin asked.

Dubin also asked whether any of them had ever had a conversation that was overheard and "completely misunderstood." He questioned whether any of them would think it odd to keep large amounts of cash at home and whether any of them had a bias against wealthy people.

The questions dovetailed with facts in the case, from the FBI's secret recording of a conversation Adelson had in 2016 at the Dolce Vida restaurant in 2016 with a woman who was later convicted in the murder to wire taps of Adelson and his family.

Evaluate the evidence: Read the transcript and watch the video that prompted charges against Charlie Adelson

At the end of the questioning, roughly half the prospective jurors who had been questioned as a group were struck from the panel. Other individuals who had been summoned to serve were called into the jury box for another round of group questions from the prosecution and defense.

Later in the day, Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman asked a different round of jurors how they felt about the law that allows a person who planned a murder to be charged just the same as the person who pulled the trigger.

"Does that sit right with you?" she asked. "What are your feelings about that law?"

A couple of jurors expressed reservations about that, saying the planner may be less culpable than the shooter. However, another person said that in a murder, "those people should be charged equally."

It wasn't clear how much longer jury selection would last or whether opening statements could begin later Wednesday, though it appeared the Q&A with jurors would continue after their lunch break. Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett earlier told prospective jurors that the selection could last through Thursday.

Adelson is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the killing of Markel, who was shot in the head at close range on July 18, 2014, after pulling into the garage of his Trescott Drive home.

Investigators traced the murder to two Miami men, Luis Rivera, a Latin Kings gang leader, and his best friend, Sigfredo Garcia, who had rented a Toyota Prius in their name and driven to Tallahassee to carry out the hit. The two men, along with Katherine Magbanua, the mother of Garcia's children who was dating Adelson at the time, have all been convicted in the murder.

Prosecutors say the murder stemmed from a messy divorce and ongoing child-custody battles between Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, who is the defendant's younger sister.

In other developments, on Tuesday, the defense asked for a change of venue for the trial, arguing that extensive publicity would preclude a fair trial in Tallahassee. Everett ruled against the request.

Pre-trial primer: FSU professor Dan Markel's killing: Everything to know about the murder-for-hire case

Analysis: Walkthrough of witnesses making the case for, against Charlie Adelson

GAVEL-TO-GAVEL COVERAGE: The Tallahassee Democrat will livestream each day of the trial of Charlie Adelson from the courthouse in Tallahassee. Watch on Tallahassee.com and the Tallahassee Democrat's Facebook and YouTube pages. For best viewing experience: Download the Tallahassee Democrat app to watch and receive text alerts on when to watch – from opening arguments to the verdict. The judge has directed that their be no camera feed or livestream during jury selection.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Dan Markel murder: Jury selection on Day 3 for Charlie Adelson trial