4.Marissel Descalzo — Direct/Cross/Redirect
114 linesJUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated.
Members of the jury, I hope you had a restful lunch break.
we are going to continue at this point with the Defense's case.
Please call your next witness.
MR. ZELMAN: Your Honor, before we call our next witness, we laid the foundation through Luis Rivera for Defense Exhibit 50. At this point in time, we would like to introduce that into evidence.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection from the State?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Defense 50 is admitted.
(Defendant's Exhibit 50 received in evidence.)
MR. ZELMAN: Thank you. At this point in time, the Defense would call Marissel Descalzo.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please raise your right hand.
whereupon, MARISSEL DESCALZO was called as a witness, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
JUDGE EVERETT: You may be seated.
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Thank you.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may inquire.
MR. ZELMAN: Thank you, Your Honor.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ZELMAN:
MR. ZELMAN: Good afternoon, ma'am. Can you please introduce yourself and spell your last name for the jury?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Marissel Descalzo. My last name is spelled D-E-S-C-A-L-Z-O.
MR. ZELMAN: And, Ms. Descalzo, can you tell us how you're employed?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I'm an attorney.
MR. ZELMAN: what type of attorney?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: A criminal defense attorney.
MR. ZELMAN: And how long have you been practicing?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Since 2003.
MR. ZELMAN: During a period of time ending shortly after her arrest, did you represent Donna Adelson?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Yes. I represented her sometime in 2022 through maybe three months after she was arrested.
MR. ZELMAN: And I want to direct your attention specific to October -- late October and beginning of November of 2023. During that time period, was her son on trial?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I'm not sure about the date, but it sounds about right.
MR. ZELMAN: During that time period when her son was on trial and shortly after, did you have some concerns based on statements that she was making?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Concerns about Mrs. Adelson's mental state? Yes.
MR. ZELMAN: Can you tell us what those were?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: She had made numerous statements about terminating her life if her son, Charlie Adelson, was convicted.
MR. ZELMAN: Did that cause you to take any steps or actions to determine what you needed to do?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Yes.
MR. ZELMAN: And what were those?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: well, first, I conferred with Dan, Daniel Rashbaum, who represented Charlie Adelson. So we discussed it. And we decided that we needed to call ethics counsel and call the Florida Bar to determine if we needed to take any additional steps, such as Baker Acting her or -- Baker Acting is putting her in a mental institution -- or anything else.
MR. ZELMAN: After doing that, did you have further discussions with Mrs. Adelson about her mental state and what she was going to do to try to clear things up?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Mr. Rashbaum and I spoke to her further. And, you know, she told us that what she really wanted to do was she wanted, you know, to get away on a vacation with her husband, her husband agreed that this would be good for her mental state, and so we discussed a potential vacation.
MR. ZELMAN: At that point in time, was there anything preventing Mrs. Adelson from traveling?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: As far as Mr. Rashbaum and I knew, there was not.
MR. ZELMAN: And specifically there were no warrants for her arrest?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: My understanding from speaking to Mr. Rashbaum, that Mr. Rashbaum had communicated with law enforcement, and that there was no outstanding warrant.
I had been in touch with the prosecutor of this case -- and I apologize because I only remember your first name -- but with Georgia, and I -- we had discussed previously, not around this time, we had previously discussed that I represented Mrs. Adelson. So I assumed that if anything would happen, if there was a warrant or if Mrs. Adelson was going to be arrested, that I would be contacted.
MR. ZELMAN: Did you advise Mrs. Adelson that if a warrant was issued, that you would provide her with that information so that she could self-surrender?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: So the discussions I had with Mrs. Adelson weren't exactly like that. Mrs. Adelson discussed what would happen if there was an arrest warrant and the potential things that might happen. The prosecutor had never guaranteed for me that Mrs. Adelson could self-surrender.
MR. ZELMAN: Did you tell her that that would -- did you tell Mrs. Adelson that self-surrender was something that could happen?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Yes, I did.
MR. ZELMAN: And on November 6th, her son was convicted. Did you speak with her after that specific as to her ability to travel?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I don't remember the dates, but there was discussions about her traveling after the conviction, because around that time was when she was making the serious threat -- was when mrs. Adelson was making the serious threats about her life.
MR. ZELMAN: Just a moment, Your Honor.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Cross-examination?
MS. DUGAN: Yes, sir.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS. DUGAN:
MS. DUGAN: Good afternoon.
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Good afternoon.
MS. DUGAN: Now, if someone has a warrant, is it up to the defendant or the suspect, the person who has the warrant, to dictate their terms of surrender?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I don't think so. It's up to the law enforcement.
MS. DUGAN: It's usually up to law enforcement to decide how or where to apprehend that person, right?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: So it's not a requirement of law enforcement to notify someone when they have a warrant, but that is sometimes a courtesy that's extended; is that right?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: And that is a courtesy that sometimes is extended in situations where, let's say, someone is not a flight risk, right?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: It's -- in all sorts of situations you can have self-surrender extended to -- I wouldn't limit it to only people that are not a flight risk.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. would that be one situation?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I would assume so, yes.
MS. DUGAN: And you were told that by Georgia, by Ms. Cappleman, that you wanted to know whether she had a warrant and she could turn herself in. That was some amount of years ago?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: It was before -- definitely before Charlie Adelson was convicted. It was on a phone call that I had. I offered it. And as I stated, Georgia Cappleman did not guarantee that.
MS. DUGAN: But that was before Charlie's trial or verdict?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: After the verdict, or, I guess, during the trial or after the verdict, did you disclose to anyone in the State Attorney's Office that Mrs. Adelson was suicidal?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Of course I didn't. No. I had an attorney/client privilege relationship with her and I didn't think that would have been appropriate.
MS. DUGAN: Sure. And why was she suicidal?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Because her son had just been convicted, and she was worried he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison.
MS. DUGAN: was she also worried about getting convicted herself?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I don't believe that that was -- even crossed her mind. She was only worried about her son.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Are you aware of a text message where she said that she was afraid she was next, but don't worry, she would take care of that?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I'm not. I'm sorry. was that a text message to me or --
MS. DUGAN: I don't believe so.
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Yeah, I don't -- I don't have any knowledge of that.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. At the time of -- were you present when Dan Rashbaum told her that she may make it to the airport in time, or she may get to the airport and not be able to make it out?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Mr. Rashbaum and I -- I don't believe that that was -- that was a telephone call. I don't believe that that was in person. And I was on a call, and I, myself, also told Mrs. Adelson that we did not know whether there was -- that we understood there wasn't a warrant, but that didn't mean she couldn't get arrested at the airport.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. when she -- you suggested -- I guess, was the suggestion that you said that she take a vacation?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I don't believe I suggested it. I believe that that's something that was being discussed between Mrs. Adelson and her husband as something that would help her with her mental state.
MS. DUGAN: So that's something they suggested, but not you?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Correct. I did not suggest that they take a vacation.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Did you know at the time that the vacation that they were suggesting, they were considering Vietnam, China, or Korea?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I did not know the location of where they were going, and it was never discussed with me.
MS. DUGAN: So at that time, you didn't have knowledge that they were specifically looking for non-extradition countries?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I did not know one way or another where they would vacation to.
MS. DUGAN: If Donna Adelson was overheard by law enforcement debating between either committing suicide or fleeing to a non-extradition country, do you think that would change law enforcement's stance that she could turn herself in?
MR. ZELMAN: Objection, Your Honor. Calls for speculation.
JUDGE EVERETT: Overruled. The witness has opined on this matter.
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I'm not law enforcement, so I'm not sure. And I've never been in law enforcement, so I'm not sure.
BY MS. DUGAN:
MS. DUGAN: I can rephrase it. Would you expect that to change the stance?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: If I was law enforcement and I heard a target of investigation discussing a flight?
MS. DUGAN: As her attorney --
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Okay.
MS. DUGAN: -- would you expect if she's overheard debating either committing suicide or fleeing to a non-extradition country, that she wouldn't be -- that she wouldn't be expected to be able to just turn herself in on a warrant again after = that?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: I don't know. I think it would take -- to be honest with you, I'm a criminal defense attorney, so it would be case by case. Probably that would make the bond hearing a little bit more difficult if those conversations were overheard, but every prosecution is different, and maybe the prosecutor would agree. I don't know.
MS. DUGAN: One second.
BY MS. DUGAN:
MS. DUGAN: Specifically, though, about self-surrender, would you expect that to change law enforcement's stance as to self-surrender, not as to a bond?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Again, I think that that's specific to each case. And, you know, I don't know exactly what was overheard. So I apologize, but I don't really have a concrete answer for you, other than what I said before, that it would come up at a bond hearing.
MS. DUGAN: Thank you.
JUDGE EVERETT: Redirect examination?
MR. ZELMAN: Thank you, Your Honor.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ZELMAN:
MR. ZELMAN: Ms. Descalzo, the prosecutor asked you about fleeing the jurisdiction. My client talked to you about a vacation, correct?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: That is correct. It was not fleeing the jurisdiction.
MR. ZELMAN: And the State also asked you about fleeing or going to a non-extradition country. Have you, in your career, dealt + =with extradition from foreign countries?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: Yes, I have.
MR. ZELMAN: And merely because someone is in a non-extradition country, does that prevent the United States from attempting to seek their return or their extradition to the United States?
MARISSEL DESCALZO: It absolutely does not, especially if you're a U.S. citizen.
MR. ZELMAN: Nothing further.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may step down.
Is this witness going to be recalled for any purpose?
MR. ZELMAN: No, Your Honor. I believe she might be able to get the early flight this evening.