Tentative date set for Alex Murdaugh retrial in 2027

• Alex Murdaugh will have a court hearing on June 29 to schedule proceedings for his double-murder retrial.
• The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his 2023 murder convictions due to improper jury communication.
• A retired judge, Debra R. McCaslin, has been appointed to oversee all future retrial proceedings.

Alex Murdaugh, clad in an orange jumpsuit and shackles in a courthouse in Lexington County on June 29, got a new court date for his murder retrial.

It has been three years since Murdaugh's first murder trial, and he was often seen smiling and conferring with his attorneys during the hearing.

By mid-morning, Judge Debra R. McCaslin had set the date for the next pretrial conference for Aug. 14 at the Lexington Courthouse and had set a tentative date for the murder trial to begin on April 5, 2027.

This would give the defense time to get its new expert witnesses up to speed and to allow the incoming Attorney General to familiarize himself with the case. The current Attorney General Alan Wilson won the Republican Primary for South Carolina governor. However, the court could revisit that date and extend it out a couple of weeks, if it takes longer to prepare the independent DNA analysis.

The first court hearing in the double-murder retrial process for former Hampton lawyer Richard "Alex" Murdaugh took place this morning, and officially began the second round of what many have called South Carolina's trial of the century.

This hearing was a status conference in The State vs. Richard Alexander Murdaugh before Circuit Court Judge McCaslin at the Lexington County Judicial Center, according to court rosters and the S.C. Attorney General's Office, which will prosecute the case.

Murdaugh is once again facing two murder charges and a pair of related weapons charges in connection with the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of Murdaugh's wife, Maggie, and adult son, Paul. The June 29 hearing was "for scheduling purposes only," stated the court roster, to set the stage moving forward.

McCaslin opened the hearing with "I see we have a full house, Good Morning," then, after the attorneys introduced themselves, she advised all legal counsel that she basically knew nothing about the first trial and to feel free to explain anything necessary. 

The judge's first order of business was to ask if discovery was complete. While lead prosecutor Creighton Waters indicated that, as far as the State was concerned, their discovery process was complete, while Murdaugh attorney Richard Harpootlian stated, "We don't know what we don't know," questioning if the State had evidence they weren't aware of. 

Harpootlian questioned if SLED investigators had turned everything over to the grand jury, and mentioned a TV interview conducted by Colleton County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jason Chapman, 10 days after the first trial was complete, in which Chapman indicated that he believed the killer had help because the crime scene had been cleaned and "manipulated," but Chapman did not testify to this during the first trial.  

Harpootlian said that if Chapman has evidence, we need it.

Judge McCaslin indicated early in the hearing that she also intended to set a trial date today because "this is the oldest case on my docket," and she intended to clear it. 

Harpootlian indicated that the defense intended to hire eight new expert witnesses, and they would likely need about six months to get up to speed.

Harpootlian and co-counsel Jim Griffin argued that Murdaugh needed a secure laptop in prison because he had a right to view all the evidence.

Waters counter-argued that the S.C. Department of Corrections was "adamantly opposed" to an inmate having a laptop, and reminded the court that Murdaugh had already had his prison tablet privileges revoked once before for violating prison rules. 

Harpootlian argued that if Murdaugh's attorneys had to take boxes of evidence into prison and "babysit" the evidence for hours with Murdaugh, then it might take the defense a year or more to get ready for the retrial.

Judge McCaslin surprised the court by saying that she had already taken the liberty of calling the prison warden, who told her he would not allow a laptop for safety reasons but would provide Murdaugh with a conference room where he could sit with his attorneys and view their computers. Attorneys are allowed a tablet, and the judge said she would check whether discovery evidence could be downloaded onto it.

"No other inmate has a laptop in their cell," added McCaslin, "I'm not going to allow him to have a laptop in his cell... the answer is no, I'm not going to allow it."

Harpootlian renewed his motion to have Murdaugh unshackled, saying that potential jurors were watching this and the State was "parading him around like an animal in a jumpsuit." He asked Murdaugh to stand so the court could see the double layers of shackles and added, "He's not Ted Bundy."

Waters said shackling is a basic policy for convicted and pretrial inmates. 

Judge McCaslin said she would take it under advisement and issue an order later.

The judge said she would issue a ruling on Murdaugh's motion for independent DNA testing at the next pretrial hearing because she needed to know how long the process would take. 

Griffin informed the judge that DNA was found under murder victim Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails that was from an unknown male who was not related to Alex Murdaugh.

The judge instructed both parties to have their experts confer to determine whether there is still a viable DNA sample and how long it would take to conduct an independent analysis; she would decide at the next pretrial hearing. 

Judge McCaslin then addressed the motion for a change of venue, stating that she would give the State time to respond to that motion, and if the motion wasn't opposed, then both parties would be allowed to suggest alternate trial locations. If they could not agree, she would decide for them, she added. 

After polling the attorneys, Judge McCaslin decided that future pretrial hearings would likely be held at the same location in the Lexington County Courthouse.

Judge McCaslin has set the date for the next pretrial conference for Aug. 14 at the Lexington Courthouse and has set a tentative date for the murder trial to begin on April 5, 2027.

To conclude the hearing, when asked about the admissibility of financial crime evidence in the second trial by Griffin, Judge McCaslin made it clear that she intended to rule on that during one of the pretrial hearings, so they could be ready to pick a jury and get started

Watch Alex Murdaugh's first court appearance after murder convictions overturned

Court TV is broadcasting live from Murdaugh's first court appearance since the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his convictions.

SC Supreme Court overturns Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions

The S.C. Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh’s previous 2023 murder convictions and ordered a new trial on Wednesday, May 13, citing improper jury communication and tampering by former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, among other legal issues, which has also led to a related federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Murdaugh.

Retired SC circuit court judge to oversee retrial

On June 8, South Carolina Chief Justice John Kittredge appointed a retired S.C. circuit court judge to oversee all future retrial and related proceedings involving the previously convicted murderer Murdaugh, according to an order issued by the state's Judicial Branch.

Justice Kittredge appointed Judge Debra R. McCaslin to oversee the retrial, and her appointment comes as legal proceedings surrounding Murdaugh continue to draw national attention following the overturning of his conviction and his multi-million-dollar fraud spree.

Is Alex Murdaugh out of prison?

Murdaugh is currently serving a 27-year sentence at the S.C. Department of Corrections for the financial crime convictions that the Attorney General’s Office secured. Murdaugh has also pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and was sentenced to 40 concurrent years for those crimes.

Notices will be published by county clerk of court

While the South Carolina Judicial Branch has emphasized that McCaslin will not grant interviews or comment on any aspect of the proceedings, citing judicial ethics rules that prohibit judges and court staff from discussing pending matters, court officials stipulate that notices for all future hearings and proceedings will be published by the appropriate county clerk of court.

Where will Alex Murdaugh's retrial be held?

On May 29, the S.C. Supreme Court officially filed its "Remittitur," remitting the case of The State Vs. Richard A. Murdaugh back to the Colleton County Court of General Sessions in the 14th Judicial Circuit.

While the Murdaugh case is back on the Colleton County docket, the retrial is unlikely to be held there. While the S.C. Attorney General's Office has announced it will "aggressively" retry the case, Murdaugh's defense attorneys have indicated they will be seeking a change of venue.

Can the public watch the June 29 Murdaugh hearing?

A June 24 court order regarding media coverage has designated Court TV as the pool representative for the audio/visual coverage of Monday, June 29's proceedings, and The State newspaper as the pool photography representative.

The hearing is open to the public, as seating is available.