Revoked Conflict Waiver Means Delays In Slain Law Professor Case

Donna Adelson

The fight to bring Dan Markel’s killers to justice just got a little bit longer. The Florida State Law professor was killed in 2014, gunned down in his driveway by a pair of hitman. Donna Adelson is accused of conspiring with her son to hire killers to murder her ex-son-in-law Markel. Her case, which was just beginning jury selection, has been pushed back. Judge Stephen Everett issued the continuance after Donna Adelson’s son, Charlie, invoked his 6th Amendment rights preventing his lawyer from representing her. In 2023, Charlie Adelson was convicted in the the murder-for-hire plot.

The Tallahassee Democrat has coverage:

[Dan] Rashbaum — in a stunning turn of events — withdrew as Donna Adelson’s lawyer on Tuesday, the first day of jury selection in her murder trial.

The move prompted Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett, who had cautioned Adelson multiple times about potential conflicts involving using the same lawyer who represented her son, Charlie Adelson, to declare a continuance.

It must have taken Judge Everett an inordinate amount of judicial restraint to not immediately belt out “I told you so!” to whoever was within ear shot. That said, it is important to give weight to the whole balance of the 6th Amendment. There’s more to it than just speedy trials; it also protects the sanctity of attorney-client privilege. While this will cause delays, ignoring Charlie’s revocation would be a much larger problem.

The development has also been neatly explained by reporters, you can see their coverage here.

There is no clear date on when the trial will pick back up, but Donna Adelson’s new lead council, Alex Morris, expects things to resume between November and February.

‘Epic Disaster’: Donna Adelson’s Trial Went Off The Rails. Here’s What’s Coming Next. [Tallahassee Democrat]

Earlier: The Dan Markel Case: Trial Delayed, Yet Again

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.