Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh files back-to-back state, federal appeals. What to know

Alex Murdaugh may be in maximum security, serving three prison sentences, yet still, the cases of the State of South Carolina vs. Richard Alexander Murdaugh and USA vs. Murdaugh are not over yet.

As long as there is legal recourse and a higher court to plead to, the former legacy lawyer is prepared to continue his legal fight. This week, he filed back-to-back appeals—one in state court and one at the federal level.

Murdaugh, convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife and child in June 2021 and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, was denied a new trial based on jury tampering allegations following a Jan. 29 hearing before former S.C. Justice Jean Toal.

That hearing centered on whether or not former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, who resigned recently while facing two state police investigations, influenced the jury's guilty verdict. In her ruling, Toal said they did not, calling Hill's statements to the jury merely "foolish comments" unlikely to influence a verdict.

Following Toal's ruling from the bench, on April 4, the retired S.C. Supreme Court Justice filed her official order denying Murdaugh a retrial.

Seven days later, Murdaugh's defense team, Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin filed a notice of appeal for Toal's ruling. The brief, two-page "notice of appeal" document provides no details and offers no insight into the legal grounds Murdaugh intends to argue, but this will be made clear when the actual appeal is filed.

But Murdaugh is fighting legal battles on multiple fronts. The disbarred attorney was also convicted in November 2023 in state court of numerous financial crimes and sentenced to 27 more years, then convicted in federal court and sentenced on April 1 to 40 years of federal time.

On April 15, Murdaugh's attorneys filed a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals regarding that four-decade sentence.

Like the state notice, this brief filing offers no insight into Murdaugh's forthcoming legal arguments.

As Murdaugh's attorneys jump from one higher appeals court to the next, Murdaugh remains incarcerated at the maximum security McCormick Correctional Institution as he begins to serve all three prison sentences concurrently.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Alex Murdaugh appealing rulings on state, federal cases. What to know