Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder

The Dan Markel Case: Some Updates On The Trials (Plural)

The defendants will be tried separately, and one can understand why.

By  
on
Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera

Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera

I generally liked HBO’s The Night Of, but like columnists Toni Messina and Harry Graff, I found some inaccuracies to complain about. For example, the show went from arrest to trial — a homicide trial, no less — in what felt like no time at all. It seemed that much of the critical discovery and investigation, including interviews of key witnesses, took place mid-trial, seemingly hours before said witness took the stand.

That said, criminal litigation (especially in the state courts) generally moves faster than civil litigation. That’s due in large part to the right to a speedy trial that criminal defendants enjoy — which brings us to the latest developments in the prosecutions of Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera for the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel.

Yesterday we mentioned a November 14 trial date for both defendants. That just got changed, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat:

Luis Rivera, one of two men accused in the killing of Dan Markel, will go to trial on Oct. 24.

In a court hearing Thursday, Rivera’s attorney Chuck Collins motioned for a speedy trial. Rivera will be split from his co-defendant Sigfredo Garcia, who will stand trial Nov. 14.

So Rivera’s trial will take place before Garcia’s. The evidence against Rivera is arguably weaker than the evidence against Garcia. As readers who have been following this case know, Garcia can at least be linked indirectly to Markel. Garcia has two children with Katherine Magbanua, who used to date Charlie Adelson, former brother-in-law to Dan Markel (and, according to law enforcement allegations, not a fan of Markel).

Rivera doesn’t have the same kind of connection to Markel. But the state claims to have evidence connecting Rivera to the crime, including cellphone records, surveillance videos showing Rivera and Garcia following Markel before his shooting, and witnesses who claim to have seen or interacted with both men in Tallahassee (far away from their home base in Miami).

Sponsored

Why the separate trials for Rivera and Garcia? Per WCTV:

“We would have preferred to try them together given the volume of evidence in the case,” [Assistant State Attorney] Norris said afterward.

“It is easier to point the finger of blame at someone when they’re not sitting next to you,” Norris said of the defense’s move to separate the two co-defendants.

But will there be direct finger pointing? Or will the defense rely more upon the presumption of innocence, the prosecution’s high burden of proof, and challenges to the circumstantial nature of the evidence?

The latter strategy is what we saw on The Night Of. But there’s a big difference between a television show and real life.

P.S. Please note that I’m not saying whether the strategy worked on The Night Of; I don’t want to spoil the show for those of you who haven’t seen the finale yet.

Sponsored

UPDATE (9/9/2016, 8:55 a.m.): Some important new evidence in the case just came out; we’ll have a report on it shortly.

UPDATE (9/9/2016, 10:15 a.m.): See The Murder Of Dan Markel: The Case Against Donna Adelson.

Rivera’s trial in Markel murder set [Tallahassee Democrat]
Suspects to be tried separately in Markel murder [WCTV]

Earlier: The Dan Markel Case: No Resolution In Sight

David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.

Topics

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,