State of Florida vs Todd Michael Jackson

Mr. Padilla represented Todd Michael Jackson in a double murder case and armed kidnapping out of Polk County Florida. The case involved various four eye witnesses who alleged they saw Mr. Jackson either commit the murder or dispose of evidence related to same. One of the state’s eye witnesses alleged that she had not only witnessed the murder but that she had been kidnapped and held against her will by the defendant. After a week long trial the jury was unable to reach a decision and the judge declared a mistrial.

Mr. Padilla and his team of investigators were able to subpoena jail records that cast significant doubt on the veracity of some of the state’s witnesses. Only after moving to compel those records did the Polk County Sheriff’s department finally produce the complete records that became a pivotal piece of evidence for the defense. Despite not being able to secure a not guilty for his client, Mr. Padilla is proud of his team and the work it took to secure the mistrial.

Mr. Padilla is known for his use of demonstrative aids to assist him at trial. Here Mr. Padilla can be seen with trial props that were consistent with several themes of the defense at trial. The “Pilar’s of justice” props were away to illustrate the state’s reliance on defective witnesses while the “fantasy island” reference was a way for the jury to begin to understand the defenses argument that a majority of state witnesses testimony had been manufactured, fabricated and or totally invented.