COLUMBIA, S.C. — People across the nation are curious about the process of getting a new trial after Alex Murdaugh’s defense team has filed a new motion.
The former lawyer was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, back in March, but his lawyers say that potential jury tampering might warrant another trial. They allege wrongdoing by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill with the jury.
On Tuesday, Murdaugh’s attorneys announced they’re filing the motion because of Article 7 in the South Carolina Code of Laws, which says an elected official cannot use their position for economic gain.
“When a jurors receive private communications outside the confines of the public courtroom, the Sixth Amendment is violated and numerous other constitutional rights are violated,” Murdaugh’s defense attorney Jim Griffin shared during a press conference on Tuesday. And that's not Jim Griffin on the law. That is the law of the land.”
Griffin and fellow attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Phillip Barber filed a motion with the South Carolina Court of Appeals. In the document, they say Hill tampered with the jury by speaking with them in private, rushing them during deliberations and warning them before Murdaugh testified in his own defense.
“We never considered the likelihood as reported to us by the jurors, that the Clerk of Court would go into the sanctity of the jury room before he testified and tell the jurors, “Don't be fooled by his testimony. Watch out for his body language,” Griffin explains. “That is what the sworn testimony that we have found in court today says, and if that is true, which we have every reason to believe that it is and no reason to believe it is not, there's no choice but of course, to grant a new trial.”
These claims came to light after the defense says Hill published her book, which details her role during the trial. Attorney Alex Postic is not related to this case at all, but did share his opinion on the frequency that motions like this are granted.
“I’ve never seen it happen,” Postic says, reflecting on his years of experience. “I'm sure it has, but I've never seen it.”
But Griffin says, “I am very optimistic that ultimately we will get a new trial. How long that will take, I don’t know.”
To get that answer, I reached out to the South Carolina Court of Appeals, which says that the State Attorney General’s Office has 10 days to respond to the motion. Once the state files a return, the court says Murdaugh’s team will have five days to file a reply. Then, court says the motion will be ready for review.
At that point, the representative from the court says there is no timeline for how long the court will take to decide on the motion or when a potential new trial could take place if the motion is granted.
The AG’s office says it is “currently reviewing the defense’s latest motion and will respond through the legal process at the appropriate time."