Alex Murdaugh New Trial: Defense Attorney Breaks Down the Ruling That Reversed It All

The Colleton County Clerk of Court told jurors not to be fooled by the defense. She told them to watch Alex Murdaugh’s movements. She signaled that deliberations should be quick. The South Carolina Supreme Court found every one of those comments credible and ruled unanimously that they destroyed the integrity of the verdict.

Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Fadds dissects the legal framework the court used to reach that conclusion. Former Chief Justice Jean Toal denied Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial by placing the burden of proof on the defense — requiring Murdaugh to demonstrate he was harmed by Hill’s conduct. The Supreme Court said that was backwards. Under the Remmer presumption, which the court formally adopted through the Fourth Circuit’s Cheek test, prejudice is presumed automatically once the defendant shows the contact was more than innocuous. The burden then shifts entirely to the State to prove the verdict wasn’t affected.

Fadds explains how Toal’s questioning of jurors about their deliberative mental processes violated Rule 606(b), why the court went so far as to overrule its own precedent to close that door, and what Hill’s subsequent perjury conviction meant for the Supreme Court’s assessment of the entire evidentiary record.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

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