Court overturns Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions
Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas reports after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Alex Murdaugh's two murder convictions, vacating his life sentences. The court found that clerk Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury, aiming for a guilty verdict to boost her book sales. Despite the overturn, Murdaugh remains incarcerated, serving a 40-year federal sentence for financial crimes.
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The former court clerk whose conduct helped overturn Alex Murdaugh's murder conviction is now asking a federal judge to toss the disgraced lawyer's lawsuit against her.
In a motion filed Thursday, former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill asked a federal court to dismiss Murdaugh's lawsuit seeking $600,000 in damages, arguing he has no legal right to recover the money he spent on his defense during his 2023 double-murder trial.
Hill is asking the judge to dismiss the case on multiple grounds, including claims of immunity, arguing she was acting in her official role as clerk of court when the alleged conduct occurred.
"Most critically, even if Plaintiff states a compensable claim, Defendant is nonetheless entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity, quasi-judicial immunity, and qualified immunity, all of which bars Plaintiff’s suit," her lawyers wrote.
ALEX MURDAUGH LAWYERS FILE APPEAL ALLEGING OUSTED SOUTH CAROLINA COURT CLERK SWAYED JURY
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill smiles after pleading guilty in St. Matthews, S.C., on Dec. 8, 2025. Hill pleaded guilty to showing sealed exhibits from Alex Murdaugh's murder trial and other charges. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
The filing marks the latest legal clash between Hill and Murdaugh after the South Carolina Supreme Court threw out his murder convictions, finding Hill's conduct deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
According to the lawsuit, Murdaugh claims he withdrew $600,000 from his retirement account to pay for his murder-trial defense and now wants Hill to reimburse him through a federal civil rights lawsuit . Hill's lawyers argue Murdaugh would have paid those legal bills whether Hill ever spoke to jurors or not.
"Whether guilty or not, the Plaintiff would have most certainly incurred the exact same amount of attorney's fees he now seeks to recover," Hill's attorneys wrote.
WATCH: Becky Hill walks into Colleton County Courthouse
The filing repeatedly describes Murdaugh's lawsuit as advancing a "novel theory" that has never been recognized by courts in the Fourth Circuit. Hill's lawyers argue that while Murdaugh succeeded in winning a new trial, that does not automatically entitle him to recover the costs of defending himself against murder charges .
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According to the motion, Murdaugh has already received the relief he was entitled to when the South Carolina Supreme Court threw out his convictions and granted him a new trial.
Hill's defense team argues Murdaugh got exactly what he asked for, a new trial, and should not receive a financial payout on top of it. The filing contends the proper remedy for an unfair trial was a retrial, which he is receiving.
FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA CLERK IN MURDAUGH MURDER TRIAL ARRESTED ON MULTIPLE FELONIES
Clerk of Court Becky Hill speaks with law enforcement before Alex Murdaugh is found guilty on all counts for the murder of his wife and son at the Colleton County Courthouse on March 2, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The motion also challenges whether Hill's alleged conduct caused the damages Murdaugh is seeking.
Prosecutors and a grand jury, not Hill, brought the murder charges against Murdaugh and required him to stand trial, according to the filing. Her lawyers argue those legal expenses would have existed regardless of any comments allegedly made to jurors.
The filing further argues Murdaugh lacks standing to pursue the claim because the damages he seeks are not traceable to Hill's conduct.
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Alex Murdaugh listens as attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Phil Barber speak during a judicial hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 29, 2024. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Her attorneys also point to former South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal's original decision rejecting Murdaugh's request for a new trial, arguing it demonstrates that reasonable legal minds disagreed about whether Hill's actions rose to the level of a constitutional violation.
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The filing comes months after Hill pleaded guilty to obstruction , perjury and misconduct charges tied to her handling of the nationally watched murder trial. She received a sentence of probation and later resig…
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