Murdaugh defense 'cautiously optimistic' about new-trial bid as clerk misconduct case looms

Alex Murdaugh’s defense team says they are cautiously optimistic that a new trial could be possible after the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear two consolidated appeals in February. The cases will test a pair of issues from the 2023 murder trial: the trial’s legal rulings and allegations that Court Clerk Becky Hill tried to influence the jury.

'There’s two basic appeals that have been consolidated,' Harpootlian told Fox News Digital. 'One is the underlying trial—the legal technical issues that you see in every appeal. And there’s an additional appeal that’s very unusual: did the clerk of court say things or do things in an effort to have the jury vote guilty?'

Harpootlian described the appeals as two basic issues that have been consolidated: the underlying trial rulings and whether the clerk’s conduct could have affected the verdict. Hill pleaded guilty in Colleton County Circuit Court to four charges — obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits and then lying about it — as well as two counts of misconduct in office for taking bonuses and promoting through her public office a book she wrote about the trial. Judge Heath Taylor sentenced Hill to a year of probation; prosecutors had argued that her actions could have tainted the jury and that a new trial should be considered if such misconduct affected the verdict, though the court did not rule that way. The defense argued that Hill's credibility is irreparably damaged by the guilty plea.

Murdaugh was convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, at the family’s rural hunting estate in South Carolina’s low country, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

During the evidentiary hearing, multiple witnesses testified that Hill made comments to jurors about Murdaugh’s demeanor and testimony, including statements that defense attorneys argued crossed the line from administration into influence. Hill has denied trying to sway jurors, but Judge Jean Toal ruled last year that the defense failed to prove the comments affected the verdict. Harpootlian said the defense disagrees with that standard. 'The United States Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit have indicated we don’t have to show that it actually influenced somebody,' he said. 'We just need to show that she said things that reasonably, objectively could have influenced a juror.'

'There are two basic appeals that have been consolidated,' Harpootlian added, echoing the sentiment that any one issue could alter the outcome. 'There are a couple dozen different issues that have to be addressed. Any one of which could give us a new trial. We’re cautiously optimistic, but you don’t know until you get there and hear their questions.'

Asked whether the defense was surprised by Hill’s guilty plea and sentence, Harpootlian said the Murdaugh team is 'cautiously optimistic' in their bid to win a retrial. 'There are a couple dozen different issues that have to be addressed,' he said. 'Any one of which could give us a new trial. We’re cautiously optimistic, but you don’t know until you get there and hear their questions.'

'The integrity of the system matters,' Harpootlian added, framing the appeals as a check on the judicial process. Oral arguments are scheduled for February 11 before the state Supreme Court.