FL - FSU Law Professor Dan Markel Murdered by Hitmen *4 Guilty* #24

[Missyrocks5]

The poor Markels. The delay on this. I think Morris needs to go and I forgot that Wendi needs to testify at Donna’s trial. That makes the State have to wait for Donna’s trial to be over. They can’t be co-defendants unless the State can figure out another way to get all the divorce docs into evidence etc ,without Wendi’s testimony. Use maybe LE to say she was at the crime scene in combo with her interview with Isom, but I don’t know.

 

[IQuestion]

Rashbaum moves to withdraw from the case citing unable to obtain a new waiver from Charles’ appellate counsel.

If DR thought he was having a bad day...could the next phone call be from a client asking for return of the fees they paid?
***Editing myself. After today guess anything is possible. So many thoughts, questions and what-ifs. Remembering CA's advice to his mom. WTTE (Words to the Effect) Giving the patient back their money is better than going before the Board of Denistry.

 

[vislaw]

The continuance is much easier to accept with Donna incarcerated.

 

[Wishbone]

IANAL. Can the counsel now asking to withdraw from this case be cited for this conduct? And for the likely delay to result from it? How is this only a matter indicated at this point by this action in the court record today? Maybe it should be referred to FL Office of Disciplinary Council (or the FL state equivalent).

There seems to be some similar questionable conduct by another defendant Sarah Boone in a different Florida courtroom. Are there some judicial shortcomings there in Florida that need to be assessed? MOO

That the state lacked diligence on this matter and DR knew better is apparent. What a 10 year ordeal the Markels have lived with. I can't help but feel the state has done them a real disservice. JMO

 

[BUF]

The poor Markels. The delay on this. I think Morris needs to go and I forgot that Wendi needs to testify at Donna’s trial. That makes the State have to wait for Donna’s trial to be over. They can’t be co-defendants unless the State can figure out another way to get all the divorce docs into evidence etc ,without Wendi’s testimony. Use maybe LE to say she was at the crime scene in combo with her interview with Isom, but I don’t know.

Yes, the Markels…I feel awful for them. Not only have they had to deal with their devastating loss, but also the loss of relationships with their grandsons….replaced with the endless trials and anticipation of another trial spread over many years.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

That the state lacked diligence on this matter and DR knew better is apparent. What a 10 year ordeal the Markels have lived with. I can't help but feel the state has done them a real disservice. JMO

So true @Wishbone …… and so unfortunate. IANAL, yet have frequently worked with them and have had my own counsel for certain situations. This is so IMO unfair to the family and friends of DM and also to the courts trying to effect prosecutions.

Seems that good counsel would know the bounds. And would not be in a conflicting or conflicted situation. And wonder if the representations that ‘we had a waiver’ (or the like) ….. were factual and supported by evidence? Does that need to be established by evidence in proceedings? I do hope that this does wind up before FL Office of Disciplinary Council or the appropriate grievance board in the state. Some of this might even rise to certain questions of ethical practice or matters of conduct perhaps? MOO

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Yes. He’s been Donna’s lawyer since 2016. He was retained by her. Charlie had separate counsel, Markus. In my opinion the conflict was created in 2022 when Markus withdrew and Rashbaum became Charlie’s lawyer. At that point, in my opinion, he should have made it clear that he could no longer represent Donna should she be arrested and tried. He did not do that, apparently, nor did he obtain a signed waiver of the obvious conflict from either Donna or Charlie once he was retained to represent Donna again.

I just can’t believe this didn’t come up until now, on the eve of trial. Makes no sense to me that neither of the parties, nor Charlie’s counsel, raised the issue.

thanks for this reminder of dates in the past. Adds some clarity to the fuzzy. some!

 

[Wishbone]

So true @Wishbone …… and so unfortunate. IANAL, yet have frequently worked with them and have had my own counsel for certain situations. This is so IMO unfair to the family and friends of DM and also to the courts trying to effect prosecutions.

Seems that good counsel would know the bounds. And would not be in a conflicting or conflicted situation. And wonder if the representations that ‘we had a waiver’ (or the like) ….. were factual and supported by evidence? Does that need to be established by evidence in proceedings? I do hope that this does wind up before FL Office of Disciplinary Council or the appropriate grievance board in the state. Some of this might even rise to certain questions of ethical practice or matters of conduct perhaps? MOO

It's surprising to me that the state would not have requested the evidence of a waiver, if for nothing else than a matter of record. Isn't that part of dotting ones I's and crossing one's T's. I'm most likely in the minority here but the fact that this prosecution has dragged out over 10 years doesn't allow for me to have much confidence in the prosecution. Yes, we got convictions along the way but I don't believe it should have taken this long and in addition, all the culprits have not been convicted or even indicted yet. What has the state been waiting for? One of the conspiracy members to confess and implicate all the others? Apparently that isn't going to happen. JMOO

 

[Missyrocks5]

Yes, the Markels…I feel awful for them. Not only have they had to deal with their devastating loss, but also the loss of relationships with their grandsons….replaced with the endless trials and anticipation of another trial spread over many years.

So true. The Markels. So tragic. I feel bad for all the witnesses as well. They can't just be done with this. And several of them are older. Not the least of which is anything can happen to anyone at any time. Heaven forbid, but as they say, Man Plans and .... . All the delays are not a good thing.

 

[Wishbone]

Donna Adelson’s trial stopped before it started

100 potential jurors were summoned to the Leon County Courthouse Tuesday for questioning in the case, but the judge called a recess to allow Donna Adelson to resolve concerns about a conflict of interest.

www.wctv.tv

 

[Knitpicker]

On the live feed, when asked, Georgia Cappleman stated that she thought Charlie HAD waived conflict but that this was a case of Charlei changing his mind

It seems that Charlie could have changed his mind, even with a signed waver.

 

[Knitpicker]

Kudos to Carl Steinbeck. He has been raising the issue of the Rashbaum conflict for a LONG time. Watching his live and respect that fact he made it clear that he wont respond to comments that address Dan Rashbaum by anything other than his proper name. Always respected his integrity.

I know most want to blame Rashbaum and it looks like he used poor judgement talking Donna case without a signed waiver from Charlie BUT we also need to question why BOTH the prosecution AND the Judge let the ball get this far down the field without addressing this potential issue. Hindsight is 20 / 20, but all parties seem accountable for this cluster. IMO, this is not squarely on Rashbaum and Morris. The prosecution and judge are responsible too.

I totally agree with you. On such an important issue, the state and the Judge should have gotten a written waiver. But isn’t it true that CA could have changed his mind at any time? Even up until day 1 of trial? Or did I misunderstand?

 

[BearWatcher]

It is disappointing justice is delayed. However the alternative that a guilty verdict might be overturned with the issues raised today certainly must be better than wasting people’s time with CA changing his mind during the trial and better than the prosecution not being able to call him to the stand to address inconsistencies in any details that arise during DA trial. I am guessing DA is going to be really sad when she realizes she may not see her son again, except at the next trial which may be a long time from now and any messages will only go through people who don’t have privileged discussions, IF that has happened while she has been incarcerated. Do you think as a result of this set of hearings today that her next counsel is likely to be very cautious on that issue?

 

[Knitpicker]

This will be an unpopular opinion considering the love for Cappleman in this case, but it really is baffling to me that the State didn’t do much of anything and I agree with Steinbeck that they seemed to have “done nothing” over this issue.

GC went so far as to say today on the record that she knew of appellate cases where the State was seeking defense counsel to be removed in conflicts like this and that they were NOT requesting that (if I understood what she said correctly). She wanted to proceed as is.

I’ve always liked GC but I am having difficulty assigning all this blame towards just DR - especially when it was Charles’ new attorneys who filed this first (despite it being so “last minute”).

Eagerly awaiting to see what will happen. JMOO.

Tim Jansen was not answering any comments about the states part in all this. Because he is a Tallahassee defense lawyer and can’t speak out against them. This is an attack on GC playing fair. (But perhaps not prepared).

 

[Knitpicker]

View attachment 531888

Animated chat from Dan, followed by a look of resignation from Donna and finally she sheds a tear

eta
I scrolled back and she was also crying and vocal when speaking with Alex Morris earlier.

I didn’t see one tear from Donna. I suspect, due to Donnas demeanor the last hearing, that she knew this was coming and this is an act-just like Wendi using a box of Kleenex without one tear shed. She was wiping imaginary tears from her eyes knowing she was on camera. She had to act surprised. IMO.
Donna gave her daughter acting lessons. She wiped the eye farthest from the camera bc her eyes were dry.

 

[Knitpicker]

I

That the state lacked diligence on this matter and DR knew better is apparent. What a 10 year ordeal the Markels have lived with. I can't help but feel the state has done them a real disservice. JMO

It seems us websleuths are putting blame on the state which the attorneys doing commentary in Tallahassee are not. The judge asked Donna twice if she is sure she wants to retain her son’s counsel yet trusts that the defense has a signed waver? Shouldn’t that be asked for BEFORE they ship Charlie out to Florida for 19K?

 

[Missyrocks5]

I totally agree with you. On such an important issue, the state and the Judge should have gotten a written waiver. But isn’t it true that CA could have changed his mind at any time? Even up until day 1 of trial? Or did I misunderstand?

This is what I think they were saying. That, even after he signed off on a waiver, he could change his mind. This shows that the whole thing was a disaster. It never should've been allowed, and it should've been nipped in the bud a long time ago. It seemed from the very beginning, and I have posted it in real time at the beginning, that having the same Attorneys and all of it seemed like a ploy to give them an issue to appeal. That she could say that she is understanding the whole time, but then say she had an ineffective assistance of counsel later. I do wonder why the state looked truly upset. I know how much time they must've spent on this, but to get a verdict that would result in a reversible error doesn't seem to make sense. We will have to see what Tim Jansen and other FL criminal law attorneys say.

 

[Coldpizza]

Not fair.Had the cheese and crackers all set to go along with the wine and it gets posponed.Patience and Justice has to prevail.

 

[IQuestion]

It is disappointing justice is delayed. However the alternative that a guilty verdict might be overturned with the issues raised today certainly must be better than wasting people’s time with CA changing his mind during the trial and better than the prosecution not being able to call him to the stand to address inconsistencies in any details that arise during DA trial. I am guessing DA is going to be really sad when she realizes she may not see her son again, except at the next trial which may be a long time from now and any messages will only go through people who don’t have privileged discussions, IF that has happened while she has been incarcerated. Do you think as a result of this set of hearings today that her next counsel is likely to be very cautious on that issue?

bbm BearWatcher You bring up an excellent question...I don't think her newly formed defense team will have time or desire for passing messages between Donna and Charlie. As a great posting buddy recently cited, "You can't ride two horses with one tuchis."
Her new defense team has to focus singularly on her case, and only her case lest they face the same fate of tripping on their egos.

 

[Knitpicker]

This is what I think they were saying. That, even after he signed off on a waiver, he could change his mind. This shows that the whole thing was a disaster. It never should've been allowed, and it should've been nipped in the butt along time ago. it seemed from the very beginning, and I have posted it in real time at the beginning, that having the same Attorneys and all of it seemed like a ploy to give them an issue to appeal. That she could say that she is understanding the whole time, but then say she had an effective assistance of counsel later. I do wonder why the state looked truly upset. I know how much time they must've spent on this, but to get a verdict that would result in a reversible error doesn't seem to make sense. We will have to see what Tim Jansen and other FL criminal law attorneys say.

Yes. It did from the start seem like a ploy, but the state can’t do anything about it. This is an unusual case int his regard. I am sure Charlies appellate attorney came up with the idea and filled him in. Charlie knew he was coming to FLorida for this circus. Everyone said how happy he looked. In the long run, he will find ways to appeal through other missteps of Rashbaum. And the next lawyer for Donna will do a better job. I just hope she doesnt hire Tim Jansen. Lol.