COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal has been picked to preside over convicted murder Alex Murdaugh's efforts to get a new trial.
Tuesday the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered that Toal to take over for Judge Clifton Newman. Newman, who oversaw Murdaugh's murder trial and his state financial crimes trial, asked the court to be removed from the case last month and will retire from being a judge at the end of the month. Murdaugh's attorneys had also requested to remove Newman from the case before he voluntarily stepped away.
In her role, Toal will decide all matters related to the case and will hold jurisdiction even if the venue were to change.
Toal is a trailblazer in South Carolina politics and law, having been the first female state Supreme Court justice in South Carolina history when she joined the bench in 1988. In 2000 she became chief justice, a position she held until 2015 when she retired due to state law that requires judges to retire at age 72.
She also is a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Murdaugh is currently serving a life sentence for killing his wife Maggie and adult son Paul on June 7, 2021 at the family's large estate in Colleton County. A jury convicted Murdaugh on March 2, 2023 of both murders after just three hours of deliberation. A day later, Judge Newman sentenced him to consecutive life sentences.
His attorneys, however, are seeking a new murder trial based on their claim that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill tampered with the jury, making multiple prejudicial remarks. His attorneys said they heard from three jurors who said Hill told some of them not to trust Murdaugh when he testified in his defense. They said the court clerk, in charge of helping jurors and ensuring the trial ran efficiently, also had private conversations with the jury foreperson and pressured jurors to come to a quick verdict.
On Oct. 17, the South Carolina Court of Appeals agreed to put Murdaugh's appeal on hold to allow his attorneys to file a motion for a new trial. The motion was filed a week later, but so far a hearing date has not been set.
Murdaugh has also been convicted and sentenced in federal and state court for scores of financial crimes. He admitted to stealing millions from both his clients and the law firm that his family founded. In November, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison on the financial charges.