SC Supreme Court won’t intervene in Murdaugh bond request; attorneys await judge’s order

The S.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys’ petition that Murdaugh could not be held in jail indefinitely without bond.

The attorneys, Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian, had petitioned the Supreme Court in November, arguing that a state judge’s decision to detain Murdaugh without bond was unconstitutional.

Wednesday’s order by the state’s high court said the attorneys’ request, called habeas corpus, was no longer an issue because another judge has since set a $7 million bond for Murdaugh, the suspended Hampton attorney charged with stealing $6.2 million from 13 different clients.

“Because [Murdaugh] has been indicted on the charges for which the Honorable Clifton Newman denied bond after his arrest, and the Honorable Alison Lee has set bond for petitioner on those charges, the request for a writ of habeas corpus is moot,” the order said.

Murdaugh, 53, is being held at the Richland County jail on that $7 million bond. Attorneys are still waiting to see whether a judge will lower the bond or keep it the same. On Monday, Murdaugh’s attorneys asked Judge Alison Lee to lower it, but she has not yet ruled on that request.

Murdaugh’s attorney Griffin, reached by phone Thursday, declined to comment on the Supreme Court order.

In October during a bond hearing for Murdaugh, state Judge Clifton Newman ruled that Murdaugh — who had been charged with embezzling millions from the estate of his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield — should be kept in jail without bond pending a mental health examination.

On Nov. 9, after the mental health examination, Newman stood fast on his order: “After considering the arguments of counsel, the (psychiatric) evaluation submitted, pending charges and other investigations, and the apparent character and mental condition of the defendant, the Court finds that the Defendant is a danger both to himself and the community.”

Murdaugh’s attorneys then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus with the S.C. Supreme Court — a centuries-old legal doctrine, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, that allows challenges to a government keeping someone jailed without just cause.

The attorneys refuted Newman’s claim that Murdaugh was a danger to himself and the community and argued that Newman’s decision to keep Murdaugh jailed indefinitely without a chance to post bond was unconstitutional.

The S.C. Attorney General’s office, which is prosecuting Murdaugh, filed a motion in December opposing the attorneys’ request. The motion argued that Newman had the authority to keep Murdaugh in jail to protect the community and to protect Murdaugh from harming himself.

Before the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the attorneys’ request, Judge Lee, the presiding judge of the state grand jury, in December imposed Murdaugh’s $7 million bond. She required that the bond be paid in full, a distinction from a typical procedure in which a defendant pays 10% of the bond and is released.

Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a motion last week asking Lee to reduce their client’s bond. Murdaugh, they said, has less than $10,000 in his bank accounts and cannot pay the $7 million required.

At a virtual hearing this week, after arguments from Murdaugh’s attorney Harpootlian, the AG’s office and testimony from one of Murdaugh’s alleged victims, Lee said she would issue a written decision.

That decision has not been made public as of Thursday.

Murdaugh’s fall from grace

In addition to his alleged financial crimes, Murdaugh is a person of interest in the unsolved June murders of his wife and son on the family’s 1,700-acre hunting property that straddles Hampton and Colleton counties.

The once-prominent lawyer has experienced a very public fall from grace since the murders.

Murdaugh was fired from his former law firm, founded by his great grandfather more than a century ago. The firm recently rebranded to remove the Murdaugh name.

When Murdaugh eventually faces trial on dozens of charges alleging financial crimes, he’ll be tried before different judges.

State Judge Newman is handling Murdaugh’s November indictments, while state Judge Judge Letitia Verdin was recently assigned to handle Murdaugh’s indictments from December.

More indictments are expected in Murdaugh’s case, and it is not known whether more judges will be appointed to handle them.

This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 2:09 PM.

Kacen Bayless

The Island Packet

(843) 560-9167

A reporter for The Island Packet covering projects and investigations, Kacen Bayless is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri with an emphasis in investigative reporting. In the past, he’s worked for St. Louis Magazine, the Columbia Missourian, KBIA and the Columbia Business Times. His work has garnered Missouri and South Carolina Press Association awards for investigative, enterprise, in-depth, health, growth and government reporting. He was awarded South Carolina’s top honor for assertive journalism in 2020.