Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 5
Judge Throws Out Alex Murdaugh's $600,000 Suit Against Becky Hill Before 2027 Retrial
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 5

Judge Throws Out Alex Murdaugh's $600,000 Suit Against Becky Hill Before 2027 Retrial

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 5

Summary

  • Richard Gergel dismissed Alex Murdaugh’s bid to recover $600,000 in legal fees from former clerk Becky Hill, ruling her misconduct did not cause those defense costs.
  • The judge said Murdaugh would have had to pay lawyers for his first murder trial anyway because Hill neither investigated him nor brought the criminal charges.
  • Hill’s comments to jurors had helped prompt the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn Murdaugh’s murder convictions and life sentences earlier this year, setting a new trial for April.
  • Murdaugh still remains in prison after pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients, serving a 40-year federal sentence alongside a 27-year state term for financial crimes.

Insights

Could Alex Murdaugh find a new legal loophole to make the disgraced court clerk pay for his defense?
How will Becky Hill's own criminal convictions for perjury reshape Murdaugh's upcoming high-stakes murder retrial?
Does the strict legal shield of proximate cause unfairly protect corrupt court officials from paying for their mistakes?