Convicted financial criminal Alex Murdaugh returned to a South Carolina courtroom on Monday for a pretrial hearing to establish evidence deadlines and scheduling for his upcoming double murder retrial.
The hearing at the Lexington County courthouse follows the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision last month to vacate Murdaugh's life sentence.
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Defense attorneys and prosecutors are meeting to organize the exchange of evidence and outline future court dates.
Overturned Convictions
The state Supreme Court overturned the original 2023 convictions due to improper comments made by the Colleton County clerk of court, who instructed jurors to watch Murdaugh's body language and not be fooled by his testimony.
The appellate court also expressed concern that extensive trial testimony regarding Murdaugh's financial crimes unfairly prejudiced the jury.
According to defense attorney Donna Rotunno, all evidence from the first trial remains permissible except for specific financial details deemed overkill by the appellate court.
Murdaugh continues to serve a 40-year federal sentence and a consecutive 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes after admitting to stealing approximately $12 million from his family law firm and clients.
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Prior to the hearing, Murdaugh's legal team submitted multiple pretrial motions seeking independent laboratory testing on DNA found under his wife's fingernails, which investigators previously identified as belonging to an unknown male.
The defense also requested that the new trial be moved outside of Colleton County and that Murdaugh be provided a non-internet laptop in prison to review discovery materials.
Furthermore, defense lawyers petitioned the court to allow the 58-year-old disbarred attorney to wear civilian clothing and remain unshackled during televised pretrial proceedings and the upcoming retrial.
"Mr. Murdaugh’s convictions for non-violent, white-collar crimes in no way justify presenting him to the jury pool as a shackled prisoner in a prison jumpsuit via video cameras at televised pretrial hearings," defense attorneys wrote in their request.
Murdaugh has consistently denied executing his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul, who were found dead at their estate in 2021.
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The current proceedings will determine the trajectory and venue of the upcoming second murder trial.
