Alex Murdaugh Conviction Reversed: Former Prosecutor on How Toal Got the Law Wrong

A former Chief Justice of South Carolina evaluated Becky Hill’s jury conduct and concluded Alex Murdaugh wasn’t prejudiced. Five sitting Supreme Court justices looked at the same record and said she applied the wrong legal standard entirely. The conviction is gone.

Eric Fadds brings his experience as both a former prosecutor and current defense attorney to the question of how that happened. The court found Toal committed multiple errors: she placed the burden of proof on Murdaugh instead of the State, she questioned jurors about whether Hill’s comments changed their votes in violation of Rule 606(b), and she relied on those improper answers to deny the new trial motion. The Supreme Court overruled one of its own prior decisions to reinforce that juror mental processes are off-limits.

Fadds breaks down the Remmer presumption the court formally adopted, explains how Toal’s handling of Juror Z’s contradictory testimony gave the Supreme Court an opening to reject her credibility findings, and addresses how unusual it is for an appellate court to credit witness testimony that the lower court tried to limit from the 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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