Name: Jury Deliberation - Day 8 - Charlie Adelson
Uploaded: 2023-11-06
Description: Judge Everett completed the jury charge with deliberation mechanics — foreperson duties, communication isolation, device surrender, and exhibit access — then dismissed the alternate jurors and sent the twelve deliberating jurors to the jury room.

Judge Everett completed the jury charge with deliberation mechanics — foreperson duties, communication isolation, device surrender, and exhibit access — then dismissed the alternate jurors and sent the twelve deliberating jurors to the jury room.

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Jury Instruction Jury Instructions (Continued): Deliberation Guidance and Alternate Dismissal

1 5:12:58

JUDGE EVERETT: In just a few minutes, you will be taken to the jury room by the bailiff.

2 5:13:04

JUDGE EVERETT: The first thing you should do is to choose a foreperson who will preside over your deliberations.

3 5:13:10

JUDGE EVERETT: The foreperson should see to it that your discussions are carried on in an organized way and that everyone has a fair chance to be heard.

4 5:13:18

JUDGE EVERETT: It is also the foreperson's job to sign and date the verdict form when all of you have agreed on a verdict and to bring the verdict form back into the courtroom when you return.

5 5:13:29

JUDGE EVERETT: During deliberations, jurors must communicate about the case only with one another and only when all jurors are present in the jury room. If a juror goes to the restroom, the deliberation should stop until the juror returns.

6 5:13:44

JUDGE EVERETT: You are not to communicate with any person outside the jury about this case.

7 5:13:49

JUDGE EVERETT: Until you have reached a verdict, you must not talk about this case in person or through the telephone, writing, or electronic communication, such as a blog, Twitter, email, text message, or any other means.

8 5:14:01

JUDGE EVERETT: Do not contact anyone to assist you during deliberations.

9 5:14:06

JUDGE EVERETT: These communication rules apply until I discharge you at the end of the case. If you become aware of any violation of these instructions or any other instructions I have given in this case, you must tell me by giving a note to the bailiff.

10 5:14:20

JUDGE EVERETT: Many of you have cell phones, tablets, laptops, or other electronic devices here in the courtroom.

11 5:14:26

JUDGE EVERETT: The rules do not allow you to bring your phones or any of those types of electronic devices into the jury room.

12 5:14:33

JUDGE EVERETT: Kindly leave your devices on your seats where they will be guarded by the bailiff while you deliberate.

13 5:14:39

JUDGE EVERETT: If you need to communicate with me, send a note through the bailiff. If you have voted, do not disclose the actual vote in any note.

14 5:14:48

JUDGE EVERETT: If you have a question, I will talk with the attorneys before I answer, so it may take some time. You may continue your deliberations while you wait for my answer. I will answer any questions if I can in writing or orally in open court.

15 5:15:03

JUDGE EVERETT: During the trial, items were received into evidence as exhibits.

16 5:15:07

JUDGE EVERETT: You may examine whatever exhibits you think will help you in your deliberations.

17 5:15:13

JUDGE EVERETT: The audio, cell phone, summary, disc, jump drives, photographic, and video exhibits will be sent into the jury room with you when you begin to deliberate.

18 5:15:23

JUDGE EVERETT: If you wish to see any other exhibits, please request that in writing.

19 5:15:28

JUDGE EVERETT: In closing, let me remind you that it is important that you follow the law spelled out in these instructions in deciding your verdict.

20 5:15:35

JUDGE EVERETT: There are no other laws that apply to this case.

21 5:15:39

JUDGE EVERETT: Even if you do not like the laws that must be applied, you must use them.

22 5:15:43

JUDGE EVERETT: For more than two centuries, we have lived by the Constitution and the law.

23 5:15:47

JUDGE EVERETT: No juror has the right to violate the rules we all share.

24 5:15:53

JUDGE EVERETT: Before the bailiff takes you back to the jury room, I'm going to have the clerk announce our alternates and they will be dismissed at this point.

25 5:16:03

JUDGE EVERETT: I did want to say, though, to our alternates, I thank you for your diligent service throughout this trial.

26 5:16:09

JUDGE EVERETT: This is certainly a circumstance where two-week trials are not the normal, but we thank you nonetheless for your service in this matter. Madam Clerk.

27 5:16:28

JUDGE EVERETT: If you wish to know the outcome of the trial, you may contact my office and we will respond. For the rest of the jurors, you may take your notepads with you. Please leave the copies of the jury instructions, but you may take your notepads, and I believe your audio recording lists as well.

28 5:16:53

JUDGE EVERETT: This would be the point where everyone rises for the jury. They're coming out.

29 5:17:00

JUDGE EVERETT: Thank you.

30 5:17:25

JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated.

31 5:17:30

JUDGE EVERETT: The attorneys can leave their phone numbers with the clerk.

32 5:17:34

JUDGE EVERETT: From here, we will be in recess unless there is a note or we have a verdict itself.

33 5:17:49

JUDGE EVERETT: Please leave your phone numbers with the clerk.

34 5:17:52

JUDGE EVERETT: We're in recess.

Insights

Jury Instr. Jury Instructions (Continued): Deliberation Guidance and Alternate Dismissal

Judge Everett delivered standard deliberation guidance — foreperson duties, communication restrictions, device rules, evidence access, and the obligation to follow the law — then dismissed alternate jurors and sent the twelve to deliberate.

Case Significance

Standard Florida pattern deliberation instructions with no contested rulings or legal standards at issue; the proceeding is ministerial transition from charge to deliberation.

Boilerplate foreperson, communication, and device instructions drawn from standard Florida pattern jury instructions
Alternate dismissal is a ministerial court function
No evidentiary disputes, objections, or legal standards were contested in this segment

Highlights

Jury

Judge Everett directed the clerk to identify and dismiss the alternate jurors, thanking them for their service in a trial he acknowledged ran longer than typical.

Jury

The twelve deliberating jurors were escorted to the jury room, formally beginning deliberations in the Charlie Adelson murder-for-hire case; the court entered recess to await notes or a verdict.

Deep Analysis

Deliberation Guidance

Foreperson Selection and Duties

The jury's first task is to elect a foreperson to preside over deliberations, ensure organized discussion, give all jurors a fair chance to be heard, and sign and date the verdict form upon reaching a unanimous verdict.

Communication Isolation During Deliberations

Jurors may discuss the case only with one another and only when all jurors are present in the jury room. Deliberations must pause if any juror leaves, even briefly. No contact with anyone outside the jury about the case is permitted until the court discharges the jury after verdict.

Electronic Device Prohibition

Cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic devices are prohibited in the jury room. Jurors must leave devices on their seats in the courtroom, where the bailiff will guard them during deliberations.

Communicating with the Court

All communications with the judge must go through written notes to the bailiff. Jurors must not disclose their actual vote count in any note. The judge will confer with attorneys before responding; deliberations may continue while awaiting an answer.

Obligation to Follow the Law as Instructed

The jury must follow the law as set out in the instructions and may not substitute personal preference. The court invoked two centuries of constitutional governance and stated that no juror has the right to violate the rules — a standard anti-nullification reminder.

Verdict Form Guidance

Verdict Form Execution and Exhibit Access

When the jury reaches a unanimous verdict, the foreperson signs and dates the verdict form and returns it to the courtroom. Audio, cell phone, summary, disc, jump drive, photographic, and video exhibits are automatically sent to the jury room; all other exhibits may be requested in writing through the bailiff.

Summary

Judge Everett concluded the jury instructions with procedural guidance for deliberations. Jurors were directed to elect a foreperson to preside and sign the verdict form, to pause deliberations whenever any juror was absent, and to surrender all electronic devices to the bailiff before entering the jury room. Questions for the court were to be submitted in writing. Audio, cell phone, summary, disc, jump drive, photographic, and video exhibits were designated for automatic transfer to the jury room; other exhibits could be requested by written note. The judge closed by reminding jurors that they are bound by the law as instructed and that no juror may depart from those rules. The clerk then identified and dismissed the alternate jurors, whom the judge thanked for their service in a longer-than-typical trial. The twelve deliberating jurors were escorted to the jury room and the court entered recess pending written questions or a verdict.

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