Charlie Adelson trial to begin Thursday: What we learned from jury selection

A jury of 15 people, eight men and seven women, will decide the fate of Charlie Adelson, the South Florida dentist accused in the murder-for-hire killing of Tallahassee law professor Dan Markel.

After three days of jury selection, the prosecution and defense agreed Wednesday afternoon on the makeup of the jury, which includes three alternates. Opening statements will begin Thursday morning at the Leon County Courthouse.

Both prosecutors and the defense used all of their 10 strikes apiece to weed out jurors they didn't want on the panel. The jury that will hear evidence in the case consists of seven white men, one Black man, 2 white women and five Black women.

Adelson is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and solicitation. Prosecutors say he was a key part of the murder-for-hire plot involving Adelson and his family to have Markel killed in the midst of a bitter custody battle over the two sons he shared with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, the sister of the defendant.

On Wednesday, Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman, the lead prosecutor, and Josh Dubin, an attorney and noted jury consultant from New York, took turns questioning prospective jurors on everything from their feelings about law enforcement to whether or not they harbored any ill will toward dentists.

Adelson's attorneys, Dan Rashbaum and Kathryn Myers of Miami remained seated at the defense table while Dubin, president of Dubin Research & Consulting, interacted with the jury. Two other members of the firm, Bill Wenzel and Darren Ishmael, have been in the courtroom with the defense team all week.

Wenzel, the firm's director of jury research who formerly worked with the U.S. Department of Defense, developed proprietary software to help select the most favorable juries for the firm's clients at trial, according DRC's website.

Dan Markel was shot twice in the head at point-blank range the morning of July 18, 2014, after he had dropped his sons off at daycare, gone to the gym and pulled into the garage of his home on Trescott Drive.

Investigators used surveillance video to trace the silver/green Toyota Prius used in the murder to the two hit men, Luis Rivera, a Latin Kings gang leader, and his best friend Sigfredo Garcia, who had rented the car in his name, and Katherine Magbanua, who was dating Adelson and has two children with Garcia. All three have been convicted in Markel's murder.

The investigation, which included wiretaps and undercover FBI agents, eventually homed in on the Adelson family, including Wendi and her parents, Donna and Harvey Adelson. The whole family has long denied the accusations.

Cappleman told the court late Wednesday that the first people she will call to the stand after opening statements include the crime scene witnesses and the state medical examiner.

Tim Jansen's take: Dropping hints and building relationships with jurors

Tim Jansen, partner in Jansen & Davis, P.A., is a prominent criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee and former assistant U.S. attorney who worked major white collar crime cases as senior fraud prosecutor. He has represented numerous high-profile clients for years and is offering daily analysis on the Charlie Adelson trial to readers of the Tallahassee Democrat.

"The final phase of jury selection is the most important of the process for the litigants. Unlike federal courts, Florida courts allow the litigants to directly speak and question the venire.

This poses multiple advantages for the experienced litigant. First, it allows the lawyer to build a relationship with the jurors through direct questioning and responding back and forth. Second, the lawyer can probe an area of concern that the juror has raised in earlier questioning. Finally, a guile and cunning lawyer can subtly drop hints of their theory of the case while still in this phase of jury selection. Is this important?  It certainly is because you can see early on who will or will not be responsive to your theory when it's formally announced.

The building of a relationship with the jurors cannot be overestimated. Some lawyers ask each juror, at least one question, so they have an interaction with the entire venire. The questions may be relevant, or just an excuse to have a speaking contact. At the same time, jurors sometimes give responses that change their values to the parties. It's also why jury selection can take so long to complete.

It's not just the litigants that are part of the jury selection process. The defendant and a jury consultant, if hired, may be crucial in making the final selection process. Defendants are instructed to watch the jurors,  and if any of the jurors react negatively towards the defendant, they should inform the lawyers. The lawyers have many duties and may miss crucial body or facial expressions toward the defendant.

The defendant usually is afforded the final say on cuts to the jury. After all, this is their trial and their freedom is on the line. A jury consultant can help mold questions, conduct focus groups and or conduct mock trials. It is very atypical for a jury consultant to conduct the questioning phase of Jury selection. In fact, in my 37 years of litigation in state and federal court, I have never witnessed a jury consultant pick the jury and then not participate in the trial.

Why is this so important? Well, the most important thing in this phase is the building the relationship with the jurors that will carry over throughout the trial. If that person leaves the courtroom after jury selection, then the bonding relationship has been broken and may not be repaired. This can be crucial during the Opening, Cross Examination and Closing Arguments.

It is unclear whether Josh Dubin will be a full participant in the trial, or just the jury consultant that conducted the voir dire questioning. This will be a very telling feature of the trial. In speaking with very experience criminal defense lawyers with over 150 years of combined experience, none have ever heard or allowed a non-litigating lawyer to conduct the voir dire in a trial.

In the State of Florida v. Adelson trial, Mr. Dubin in the questioning phase asked jurors if they ever had someone misinterpret conversations they overheard? And, whether their conversations were ever recorded? The gloves are off! The defense has subtly informed the jurors of their theory of defense during this final stage of jury selection. In essence, the defense will be challenging the interpretations of the Dolce Vita recordings, and the wiretap recordings.

More importantly, this means they will need to present evidence to clarify or contradict the state's interpretation of the recordings. Enter stage left, Mr. Charlie Adelson, the defendant. He is the only person that could give relevant testimony to the words and contexts of the recordings. This is not a surprise, but to give this hint would almost force them to call him to the stand unless they have another witness to complete this task. No one expects Katie Magbanua to testify in this case, except in rebuttal for the state of Florida. Her credibility limits her effectiveness as a witness in any courtroom. If the defense fails to attack or provide a witness to give an alternative context and meanings to the recordings, they have lost the trust of the jury. In essence, the have failed to deliver what they subtly inferred in jury selection.

"This would be a fatal mistake. Jurors seldom forget what one's side infers will be the case. Charlie Adelson will be testifying in this case. Moreover, the defense appears to be forging a frontal attack on the State's most damaging evidence, the Dolce Vita and wiretap recordings. All this vital information has been given during jury selection. Opening statements should open more doors and let everyone see what else is behind the curtains of this captivating trail."

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.

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

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Dan Markel murder: Charlie Adelson trial to begin after jury selection