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This week’s U.S. fourth circuit court of appeals’ decision granting accused fraudster Russell Laffitte a new trial has no direct or immediate bearing on efforts by convicted killer Alex Murdaugh to get his two murder convictions tossed.
Murdaugh – convicted by the state of South Carolina in March 2023 of brutally murdering his wife and younger son – has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced federally for the financial crimes which prosecutors say precipitated his deadly June 2021 rampage. And while Laffitte was a key alleged cog in Murdaugh’s criminal empire, the jury shenanigans which occurred at the end of his federal trial involve a completely different set of circumstances than the jury shenanigans which impacted Murdaugh’s double homicide trial (here and here).
Also, Murdaugh has yet to engage the federal process related to his murder convictions – which remain the focus of an ongoing state-level appeal. South Carolina’s supreme court could very well decide to give Murdaugh a new murder trial next year. And frankly, based on multiple errors committed by former S.C. chief justice Jean Toal in denying Murdaugh a new trial back in January, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised to see that happen.
Which, of course, would render moot any potential federal habeas corpus filing by Murdaugh in federal court…
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But just because the respective appeals filed by Laffitte and Murdaugh are, for the moment, apples and oranges doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can deduce from their interconnectivity.
For example, the fourth circuit ruling (.pdf) which vacated Laffitte’s federal convictions – and ordered a new trial for the disgraced banker – contained excerpts which should send chills up and down the spines of attorneys working in the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson. These excerpts, if applied to a potential federal appeal filed by Murdaugh’s attorneys, would render moot alleged efforts by Wilson’s office (and others) to preserve Murdaugh’s murder verdicts at all costs.
Specifically, the court affirmed its view that Sixth Amendment violations are “presumed prejudicial” – and that once such a violation has been established, the burden falls upon the government to prove it was “harmless” to the defendant.
“The government has not carried its heavy burden to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the Sixth Amendment violation was harmless,” the fourth circuit ruled in the Laffitte case.
Later, the court specifically added “we do not find that the government has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the removal of (a juror) was harmless.”
And that… is a big deal.
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By putting the burden of proof on prosecutors as it relates to the impact of a Sixth Amendment violation, the fourth circuit’s ruling is in direct contravention of the standard adopted and implemented by former chief justice Toal in denying Murdaugh his bid for a new trial at the state level back in January.
In other words, even if the state supreme court were to uphold Toal’s decision Murdaugh is all but guaranteed of prevailing at the federal level.
Reached for comment, Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian told FITSNews he believed the fourth circuit ruling contained “legal analysis that could prove useful to Mr. Murdaugh on his appeal” but declined to elaborate.
For once, Harpootlian is underselling. The fourth circuit decision is perhaps a bigger coup for Murdaugh than it is for Laffitte.
Also, I’m told there is another hanging thread Murdaugh’s attorneys are about to pull that could further unravel the integrity of the verdicts obtained against their client nearly two years ago…
Will any of this make Murdaugh any less guilty? No. And I fully expect his second double homicide trial to produce the same outcome as the first. But the message the fourth circuit just sent to those who would blithely dismiss essential freedoms in pursuit of their own conception of “justice” is unmistakeable: Constitutional liberties matter.
And will be protected…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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9 comments
Just cost more money to convict him again. Zero chance he walks.
Agree!
There is a massive difference between dismissing a juror who felt attacked because of her views on the case and Becky Hill allegedly telling jurors to watch Alec’s body language.
“Constitutional liberties matter”
I think what you meant was “Constitutional liberties matter…for the well connected elite few”
So true, “Hank”!
Murdaugh killed his wife and adult son. Only Murdaugh knows all the crimes he’s committed during his lifetime. He’s a liar, cheat, thief, con, coward … and a murderer. South Carolina is one f–k-d up state when it comes to their judicial system. They let criminals avoid trial, avoid conviction and avoid punishment. Judge Clifton Newman conducted the Murdaugh murder trial with utmost integrity and, instead of accepting the verdict, Murdaugh and his loser and deficient defense team make a mockery of a solid conviction.
Have at it. Alex Murdaugh is a murderer and nothing will change that.
Judge Newman did a great job.
Absolutely!
Now, along with another Murdaugh trial, the escape of the monkeys in Beaufort, and the appearance of Bigfoot in Newberry, we could get another sighting of Lizard Man in Lee County, think what that would do for South Carolina tourism and national recognition.