Episode
Alex Murdaugh New Trial: Defense Attorney Breaks Down the Ruling That Reversed It All
- Published
- May 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1199
- Processing state
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- https://audioboom.com/posts/8903688
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Summary
The Colleton County Clerk of Court told jurors not to be fooled by the defense. She told them to watch Alex Murdaugh’s movements. She signaled that deliberations should be quick. The South Carolina Supreme Court found every one of those comments credible and ruled unanimously that they destroyed the integrity of the verdict. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Fadds dissects the legal framework the court used to reach that conclusion. Former Chief Justice Jean Toal denied Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial by placing the burden of proof on the defense — requiring Murdaugh to demonstrate he was harmed by Hill’s conduct. The Supreme Court said that was backwards. Under the Remmer presumption, which the court formally adopted through the Fourth Circuit’s Cheek test, prejudice is presumed automatically once the defendant shows the contact was more than innocuous. The burden then shifts entirely to the State to prove the verdict wasn’t affected. Fadds explains how Toal’s questioning of jurors about their deliberative mental processes violated Rule 606(b), why the court went so far as to overrule its own precedent to close that door, and what Hill’s subsequent perjury conviction meant for the Supreme Court’s assessment of the entire evidentiary record. LINKS Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod DISCLAIMER This publication contains commentary and opinion based on pu…