# Alex Murdaugh’s Retrial Judge Praised Harpootlian Under Oath — Now She Controls His Fate

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948/alex-murdaugh-s-retrial-judge-praised-harpootlian-under-oath-now-she-controls-his-fate
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948/alex-murdaugh-s-retrial-judge-praised-harpootlian-under-oath-now-she-controls-his-fate.md
Podcast: [True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews](https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948)
Published: 2026-06-21T01:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8918631
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8918631.mp3?modified=1781879239&sid=5001260&source=rss
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948/episodes/alex-murdaugh-s-retrial-judge-praised-harpootlian-under-oath-now-she-controls-his-fate
Duration seconds: 2167

## Resource

Judge Debra McCaslin has been vested with exclusive jurisdiction over the Alex Murdaugh retrial and all related proceedings. During her judicial confirmation before the South Carolina General Assembly, McCaslin reportedly identified Dick Harpootlian — Murdaugh’s lead defense attorney — as one of three lawyers who shaped her legal career. She reportedly rented office space from him while in private practice. Neither the prosecution nor the defense has filed a motion to recuse. Defense attorney and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis provides analysis on the recusal standard, what McCaslin’s appointment means for both the prosecution and the defense, and the pre-trial ruling that may carry more weight than any witness. The South Carolina Supreme Court’s opinion ordering the retrial directed that financial crimes evidence be sharply curtailed. McCaslin will determine the scope of that limitation. Faddis explains why that single evidentiary ruling could effectively determine the outcome before opening statements begin — and what the State must prove without the motive architecture it relied upon in the first proceeding. Attorney Eric Bland, who constructed the financial fraud case prosecutors used as their motive theory and who represented the Satterfield family, examines the implications of the Supreme Court’s characterization of specific victim testimony as having “zero probative value.” Bland addresses whether the prosecution exceeded the evidentiary limits the law permitted, what the ruling means for the families who testified, and the defense’s six-hundred-thousand-dollar Section 1983 complaint against Becky Hill — which asserts recovered funds would benefit Murdaugh’s financial crime victims, the individuals Bland represents. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EP…

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