Alex Murdaugh defense teases new trial strategy with jury fight, testimony looming

The ineligible warfare implicit Alex Murdaugh’s upcoming retrial is already taking signifier with defence lawyer Dick Harpootlian hinting astatine imaginable caller grounds and pb authoritative Creighton Waters signaling an impending combat implicit whether the disgraced lawyer tin get a just assemblage successful South Carolina.

In abstracted interviews with Fox News Digital, Dick Harpootlian, Murdaugh’s longtime defence attorney, and Creighton Waters, the pb authoritative who secured the archetypal blameworthy verdicts, previewed antithetic visions for the upcoming retrial.

The interviews came days aft the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously reversed Murdaugh’s convictions successful the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, ruling that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca "Becky" Hill improperly influenced jurors during the six-week trial.

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Now some sides are preparing for a 2nd courtroom showdown.

Alex Murdaugh sits successful the Colleton County Courthouse with his ineligible team, including Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, arsenic his attorneys sermon motions successful beforehand of Judge Clifton Newman during a December 2022 hearing. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)

Defense to propulsion for venue change, expanded assemblage screening

Harpootlian said the defence plans to question a venue change, attorney-led assemblage questioning and perchance sequestration of jurors.

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"We present person the quality to get people's societal media, their Instagrams, each of that," helium said. "And we'll scour that earlier they ever get a accidental to appear."

He argued that jurors successful the archetypal proceedings had efficaciously been conditioned to distrust Murdaugh earlier helium testified.

"They'd already been pre-conditioned," Harpootlian said, referring to grounds that Hill encouraged jurors not to judge Murdaugh.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters questions Alex Murdaugh during Murdaugh’s execution proceedings astatine the Colleton County Courthouse successful Walterboro connected Feb. 24, 2023. (Grace Beahm Alford/Staff)

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Waters contended that wide nationalist familiarity with high-profile transgression cases has go unavoidable.

"The genie is retired of the bottle," Waters said. "We're not going to beryllium capable to spell backmost with that."

He argued that publicity unsocial cannot disqualify prospective jurors.

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"If it were otherwise, anytime you person a sensational case, past the suspect would conscionable get distant with it due to the fact that of the information that, well, okay, we can't find anybody who hasn't heard astir this," Waters said.

Instead, helium said, the justness strategy depends connected jurors’ quality to travel their oath and determine cases based solely connected grounds presented successful court.

"We beryllium connected our citizens to bash what their oath requires them, enactment speech things that they mightiness person work successful the media oregon successful a podcast oregon whatever, and basal their grounds and their decisions solely connected the grounds that's presented successful the courtroom," Waters said.

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Defendant Alex Murdaugh testifies arsenic authoritative Creighton Waters transverse examines him during his execution proceedings astatine the Colleton County Courthouse successful Walterboro, S.C., connected Feb. 24, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/AP)

Will Murdaugh instrumentality the basal again?

When asked if Murdaugh volition instrumentality the basal again successful his retrial, Harpootlian said: "That'll beryllium a crippled time decision. We request to spot however the lawsuit develops."

Harpootlian said during the archetypal trial, Murdaugh decided to instrumentality the basal and attest nether oath.

"The determination to instrumentality the basal is his. He's a lawyer, and helium has defended transgression cases and prosecuted them. So helium understands [the process]," Harpootlian said. "But we reviewed everything with him and gave him our recommendations."

Alex Murdaugh talks with his defence lawyer Jim Griffin earlier his sentencing astatine the Colleton County Courthouse successful Walterboro connected March 3, 2023, aft being recovered blameworthy connected each 4 counts. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Harpootlian signaled that the defence strategy whitethorn look dramatically antithetic this clip around.

"We’ll get subpoena powerfulness for the 2nd trial, and we tin statesman to enactment records unneurotic to assistance either refute oregon enactment what we’ve heard," Harpootlian said.

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Harpootlian repeatedly attacked prosecutors for spending tremendous amounts of clip focusing connected Murdaugh’s fiscal crimes.

He argued prosecutors intentionally portrayed Murdaugh arsenic morally reprehensible earlier jurors afloat evaluated the execution grounds itself.

"So, by the clip we got to the existent evidence, [the jury] wasn't funny successful proceeding it due to the fact that helium was specified a horrible, evil man, and a liar. So that was astir assassination of character. It wasn't astir motive."

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Prosecutors support archetypal strategy

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that prosecutors could inactive usage immoderate financial-crime grounds astatine retrial due to the fact that it was applicable to motive but criticized prosecutors for spending astir 12.5 hours presenting inflammatory details with constricted value.

Waters defended the archetypal strategy, saying that some Judge Clifton Newman and the Supreme Court accepted the logic of the state’s motive theory.

"We presented a batch of grounds implicit six weeks," Waters said. "Putting successful that fiscal grounds is grounds of motive."

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Alex Murdaugh attends his sentencing astatine the Colleton County Courthouse successful Walterboro connected March 3 aft being convicted connected each 4 counts successful a treble execution trial. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Defense targets the investigation

Harpootlian besides launched a blistering onslaught connected the execution probe itself, accusing authorities investigators of suffering from passageway imaginativeness instantly aft arriving astatine the transgression scene.

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"They decided that nighttime helium was the feline and everything they did aft that excluded immoderate different thought," Harpootlian said.

He argued investigators failed to decently sphere oregon prosecute captious forensic evidence.

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"They didn't effort to instrumentality fingerprints. Didn't effort to get DNA. Didn't sphere Maggie's telephone successful the mode it's expected to be," helium said. "It's conscionable a drama of errors."

It's conscionable a drama of errors.

Alex Murdaugh talks with his attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin during his sentencing for stealing from 18 clients astatine the Beaufort County Courthouse successful Beaufort, S.C., connected Nov. 28, 2023. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier)

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The defence lawyer besides previewed his imaginable retrial strategy including family’s cellphone data, conveyance accusation and disputed timelines surrounding the killings.

"We're going to beryllium getting immoderate further forensic compartment telephone radical for the 2nd trial," Harpootlian said.

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The archetypal prosecution relied heavy connected cellphone and video evidence, peculiarly a kennel video recorded by Paul Murdaugh soon earlier the killings successful which aggregate witnesses identified Alex Murdaugh’s dependable successful the background.

But Harpootlian argued the state’s timeline remained little definite than prosecutors claimed.

"We don’t cognize whether Alex was down determination an hr earlier they were killed, 30 minutes earlier they killed. We don't know, and they don't," helium said.

He besides questioned connected Maggie Murdaugh’s cellphone, which was aboriginal recovered discarded on a roadside.

"At the clip that telephone was thrown retired of the model a fractional a mile away, he's cranking his car," Harpootlian said. "So however tin helium beryllium a fractional a mile distant erstwhile it's thrown retired the window?"

"So idiosyncratic threw it retired the window. It conscionable wasn't him."

Defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian and authoritative Creighton Waters shingle hands astatine the Colleton County Courthouse successful Walterboro connected Friday, March 3, 2023, aft Alex Murdaugh was recovered blameworthy connected each 4 counts. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier)

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Waters declined to sermon circumstantial evidentiary disputes up of retrial.

"The defence has antithetic rules, they tin spell successful a small spot and benignant of litigate the lawsuit successful the media," helium said. "Because we're backmost astatine quadrate 1 and helium is guiltless until proven guilty, it wouldn't beryllium due for maine to litigate this portion of grounds oregon that portion of grounds anterior to a retrial."