RIDGE RUNNER CHRONICLES: Think You Have a Mother-in-Law Problem?
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By Bill Hoagland
Do you think you have a mother-in-law problem? At least you are still alive. Yes, I am referring to the ongoing saga involving what has to be the worst mother-in-law in the world—Donna Adelson of Miami, Florida. She has just been convicted of murdering her son-in-law, Dan Markel, a popular law professor at Florida State University. Markel was shot in the head in his garage in 2014 in what at first appeared to be a random killing. But as the investigation played out, prosecutors realized this was a contract killing orchestrated by Markel’s mother-in-law. Five people have now been convicted of murder or related charges in this case and the criminal trials may not be over yet.
Markel and Adelson’s daughter, Wendi, also a lawyer, were married for about seven years; they had two children during that marriage. They lived in Tallahassee, where Florida State University is located. Both worked at the law school. In 2013, they were divorced. After the divorce, Wendi attempted to move to Miami and take the two children with her. Markel filed a motion in the divorce case to prevent that move because it would impact his visitation rights. Donna Adelson was upset with Markel for blocking the move because she wanted more time with her grandchildren. She eventually offered Markel one million dollars to withdraw his motion but he refused to consider it. (Yes, the Adelson family is that wealthy.) Once it was clear that Markel could not be bought off, Adelson, through her son and some Miami contacts, hired two gang members to murder him. After Markel was killed, Wendi took the two children and moved to Miami. Custody problem solved, right? Not so fast. First, the two gang bangers were tried and convicted, then a girl friend of Adelson’s son was convicted, then Adelson’s son was convicted and now we have Adelson being convicted last week. Authorities are now taking a closer look at Wendi’s involvement in this murder scheme.
There are so many rabbit holes to go down in this case and I am too old to waste time on all of them. But here are a few worthy of honorable mention: (1) Dan Markel, before being murdered by his mother-in-law, wrote a book entitled “Criminal Justice and the Challenge of Family Ties.” When he wrote the book, was he already aware of the potential irony in writing a book on this subject? (2) When the children moved to Miami and spent more time with “Grandma,” were they allowed to tell her how much they missed their daddy? Or were they told to “get over it?” (3) The phrase “a one-way ticket to Viet Nam” might seem like a great title for a murder mystery, a country music song or a memoir about the Viet Nam war. Actually, in this case, it refers to the fact that when Donna Adelson was arrested on a tarmac of the Miami International Airport, she had in her possession “a one-way ticket to Viet Nam.” (Viet Nam does not have an extradition treaty with the US.) So is this “one way ticket to Viet Nam” evidence of flight and guilt or pure stupidity?
But the aspect of this criminal case that really gets me is the question of how to deal with juries in sensational cases like this. (The entire trial was televised live). I assume this jury was sequestered during the trial but were they prohibited from cell phone use while sequestered? Prohibiting all cell phone use would only make jurors mad and less inclined to consider all the evidence before rendering a verdict. But surely you couldn’t let jurors have unlimited access to cell phones and therefore social media during the trial. The commentary on social media about this trial as it proceeded was way beyond prejudicial (regardless whether Adelson was guilty).
I am probably not the only lawyer to be glad to be done with jury trials and the challenges presented by the impact of social media on jurors. Good luck, fellow barristers, as you watch social media destroy the time-honored concept of a trial by a jury of your peers. There are just too many folks on social media sharing with your peers on that jury panel all that inadmissible evidence.
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■ Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].
