Filing # 187421595 E-Filed 12/05/2023 05:00:45 PM.
IN THE SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT
IN AND FOR LEON COUNTY, FLORIDA
CASE NO. 23-CF-3226
STATE OF FLORIDA
Plaintiff,
DONNA SUE ADELSON,
Defendant.
EMERGENCY MOTION TO ENJOIN
THE JAIL, FOR AN INDEPENDENT PSYCHOLOGICAL
EVALUATION, OR RELEASE TO HOUSE ARREST
Donna Sue Adelson, pursuant to the United States Constitution, hereby
moves this Court to enjoin the Leon County Jail from subjecting her to her current
conditions of confinement and direct the Leon County Jail to place Donna in a unit
where she can prepare for trial and speak to her family, or conduct an independent
psychological evaluation in order to be placed in a different unit where she can
properly prepare for trial and speak to her family; alternatively, she requests to be
released on house arrest coupled with standard conditions of pretrial release, and in
support thereof states as follows:INTRODUCTION
Donna Adelson, a 73-year-old grandmother, was arrested in Miami, Florida
on November 13, 2023, after her son, Charles Adelson, was convicted of
murdering Dan Markel in an alleged murder-for-hire plot. The evidence against
Donna is circumstantial at best.
While Donna has been charged with a crime, there is a presumption of
innocence in this country. Donna is entitled to a fair trial, has a right to counsel,
and has a right against cruel and unusual punishment. To date, all of Donna’s rights
have been violated despite the presumption of innocence in place.
Arrest and Time in Miami Dade County
On November 13, 2023, Donna was arrested and transported to TGK Jail in
Miami Dade County. Upon arrival at TGK Jail, Donna was placed in a psychiatric
unit because of the charges against her. She was placed in an isolation cell with a
small sink, mattress on the floor, blanket, and a toilet. Donna did not have access
to any clothes, cups, silverware, books, blankets, or toiletries and was only
permitted to shower once. Although she had access to counsel, she was not
permitted to use the phone to contact family members. Following two psychiatric
evaluations, Donna was cleared within 96 hours of her arrest and placed in general
population where she was able to contact her family and attorney. Donna’s mental
state has not changed since the determination by the psychiatrist at TGK Miami.Transportation to Leon County Jail
On November 20, 2023, around noon, Donna was picked up from TGK Jail
and transported to Leon County Jail. Her transporters placed her in the back of the
transport vehicle with no water. Several hours into the journey, Donna tried to get
the attention of the officers because she needed water and a restroom stop, but she
was not able to get their attention. Approximately 4-5 hours into the trip, when the
officers finally checked on her, Donna was shaking, dehydrated, and unable to
stand up or move. As a result, the officers had to call paramedics to a rest stop.
Leon County Jail
Upon arrival at the Leon County Jail, officials put her in the infirmary under
direct observation. She was then placed in a small solitary unit with a toilet, a sink,
a mattress on the floor, and a dirty blanket. She has requested a book or Bible but
has not been given anything and has been forced to eat her food with her hands.
‘The day after arriving at the Leon County Jail, one of the jail’s mental health
officials began questioning Donna about medications she was taking before she
was arrested. Donna felt uncomfortable during this interaction because she could
not see the official’s face and wanted to verify that they were in fact a healthcare
professional, but the official would not verify. When Donna made her concerns
known, the official told Donna that Donna “is a fancy white lady who murdered
her son and now thinks she has rights.” The official joked with the other guardsabout this outside of Donna’s door. The official then said that Donna will “learn
that fancy white lady murderers have no rights here” and told Donna, “Do you see
where you are and do you see where I am? I am out here because I am not a
murderer.”
Since that interaction, some of the jail staff have treated Donna with cruelty.
She is sometimes denied her necessary blood pressure medication, and she has
been prevented from showering for days at a time. In the 15 days that Donna has
been at Leon County Jail, she has only been permitted to call her husband once, on
November 28, 2023, for approximately five minutes while guards stood watch. It
was only with the help and intervention of the State that this call took place.
Donna has not been permitted to call her counsel at all.
At one point, a psychiatrist working at the jail told Donna that she does not
belong in the solitary unit and another jail official also told Donna the same thing,
As a result of these cruel and inhumane conditions, Donna is becoming weaker and
weaker every day, and because she does not have phone access, it has been
impossible for her to contact her counsel or take part in her defense. Despite
repeated attempts to call the jail, set up video visitation, and/or set up in person
visitation, undersigned counsel has been unable to communicate with Donna since
her transport to Leon County Jail. Both undersigned counsel and the State have
tried to get help from the jail to no avail.ARGUMENT
I. Donna’s detention conditions violate her Sixth Amendment right to
counsel.
‘The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right
to effective assistance of counsel. McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771, n. 14
(1970); Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 685-86 (1984). That right attaches
as soon as an individual is arrested and held to answer criminal charges. See United
States v. Gouveia, 467 U.S. 180, 185-86 (1984); see also Fed. Defs. Of N.Y. v. Fed.
Bureau of Prisons, 954 F.3d 118, 134 (2d Cir. 2020) (“The right to consult with
legal counsel about being released on bond, entering a plea, negotiating and
accepting a plea agreement, going to trial, testifying at trial, locating trial
witnesses, and other decisions confronting the detained suspect, whose innocence
is presumed, is a right inextricably linked to the legitimacy of our criminal justice
system.”).
It is crucial that Donna be able to participate in her defense. Donna is
charged with very serious offenses, and this case involves years of investigation
and enormous amounts of discovery. The State has already disclosed a witness list
including hundreds of witnesses, as well as hundreds of pages of extensive
financial records, photographs, recordings and wiretaps, call records, cell phone
and email account extractions, iCloud extractions, toll records, interviewrecordings, deposition documents, letters, police reports, jail calls, and other
documents. Donna must participate in her defense by reviewing and discussing the
evidence in this case with her attomey, which is impossible when she is refused
communication with her attorney and left in a solitary cell while her health rapidly
declines. Donna therefore respectfully requests this Court grant the requested relief
in order to preserve her Sixth Amendment rights.
IL Donna’s detention conditions are unconstitutionally punitive.
The United States Supreme Court has made clear that the purpose of pretrial
detention is regulatory, and not punitive. United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739,
755 (1987) (“In our society liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or
without trial is the carefully limited exception”). The Supreme Court has explained
that a court must decide whether the condition “is imposed for the purpose of
punishment or whether it is but an incident of some other legitimate governmental
purpose.” Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 538 (1979). “Absent a showing of an
expressed intent to punish on the part of detention facility officials, that
determination generally will tum on ‘whether an alternative purpose to which [the
restriction] may rationally be connected is assignable for it, and whether it appears
excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned [to it].”” /d. (quoting
Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144, 168-69 (1963). If a condition of
detention is “not reasonably related to a legitimate goal—if it is arbitrary orpurposeless—a court permissibly may infer that the purpose of the governmental
action is punishment that may not constitutionally be inflicted upon detainees.”
Beil, 441 U.S. at 539.
Here, some jail officials are intentionally punishing Donna, even though she
has not been convicted of any crime, in violation of her Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendment rights to due process. Instead of providing her actual medical care, the
jail has shown deliberate indifference to Donna’s medical needs by denying Donna
her necessary blood pressure medication, not allowing her to shower, and letting
her become weaker and weaker as she sits in her cell naked all day with nothing
but a mattress on the floor.!
Such conditions do not further any legitimate goal and do not serve any
regulatory purpose. Some officials at the jail do not believe that Donna belongs in
the direct observation unit. Moreover, officials at TGK Miami confirmed that
Donna did not need to be in a direct observation unit. There is no reason, medical
or otherwise, why she should not be in a normal part of the jail where she would
havea
ss to counsel and the ability to speak to her family
' Even if this fact pattern occurred at the post-conviction stage, such treatment would constitute
violation of Mrs, Adelson’s Eighth Amendment rights, as “deliberate indifference to serious
medical needs of prisoners constitutes the “unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain’ []
proscribed by the Eighth Amendment.” Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976) (internal
citations omitted); see also Davis v. Bay County Jail, 155 So, 34 1173 (Fla. Ist DCA 2014).Given the highly publicized nature of this case, the years of publicity on
social media and national television, and especially the reporting in Tallahassee,
which is a small community, the tensions are high, and the community has taken a
position contrary to Donna, which has affected her constitutional right to effective
counsel and her right against cruel and unusual punishment. This is not fair. It is
not up to any particular person at the jail to decide whether Donna is guilty or not
guilty ~ that will be decided by a jury at trial. It is unconstitutional to punish her
before her case is put before a jury,
RE
ESTED RELIEF
In order to prevent further constitutional violations, Donna respectfully
requests this Court enjoin the Leon County Jail from subjecting her to her current
conditions of confinement and direct the Leon County Jail to place Donna in unit
where she can prepare for trial and speak to her family, or conduct an independent
psychological evaluation in order to be placed in a different unit of the jail where
she can properly prepare for trial and speak to her family; alternatively, she
requests to be released on house arrest coupled with standard conditions of pretrial
release.
c
ATE OF CONF
RAL
Undersigned counsel has conferred with ASA Georgia Cappleman. ASA
Cappleman advised that the State defers to this Court regarding enjoining the LeonCounty Jail from subjecting her to her current conditions of confinement and
directing the Leon County Jail to place Donna in unit where she can prepare for
trial and speak to her family; the State does not oppose an independent
psychological evaluation; the State opposes Donna’s release from pretrial
detention,
Dated: December 5, 2023
Respectfully submitted,
ACHE, BRONIS & DESCALZO, P.A.
150 SE Second Ave. Suite 600
Miami, Florida 33131
T: 305-537-9565
F: 305-537-9567
{si Marissel Descalzo
Marissel Descalzo, Esq.
Fla. Bar No. 669318
[email protected][email protected]
Counsel for Donna Sue Adelson
OF
I CERTIFY that on December 5, 2023, the foregoing document was filed via
the Florida E-Filing Portal which will serve all counsel of record.
{si Marissel Descat:
Marissel Descalzo, Esq.