Murdaugh officially disbarred

A South Carolina attorney at the center of multiple criminal investigations and civil lawsuits has now been officially disbarred by the order of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, July 12, the state Supreme Court issued its official order disbarring Richard Alexander "Alex" Murdaugh from the practice of law in South Carolina in the wake of scores of criminal charges stemming back more than a decade and spanning the width of the S.C. Lowcountry.

This is the most recent - and potentially one of the most poignant and powerful - developments in the fall from grace for Murdaugh, a fourth-generation attorney and prosecutor from one of the most powerful and storied legal families in South Carolina.

For more than a century, Murdaugh attorneys have practiced civil law and prosecuted cases as solicitors in the five-county 14th Judicial Circuit, and the Murdaugh name is synonymous with the law in their hometown of Hampton County.

This ultimate sanction for an attorney came on the same day that Murdaugh's family members reported that state police had disclosed intentions to charge Murdaugh in connection with the June 7, 2021, double homicide of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at their Colleton County home. A date for these charges to be filed has not been officially announced.

In its first order involving Murdaugh, the S.C. Supreme Court suspended the Hampton attorney from legal practice on Sept. 8, 2021, following an alleged insurance fraud scheme and allegations that he had stolen money from legal clients and his family law firm. Since then, Murdaugh has been charged with a total of 84 criminal charges - from financial crimes to drug charges - and 11 civil suits.

The Supreme Court order stated its disbarment decision was based on Murdaugh's "admitted reprehensible misconduct," adding that Murdaugh "admitted in various court proceedings and filings that he engaged in financial misconduct involving theft of money from his former law firm; that he solicited his own murder to defraud his life insurance carrier; and that he is liable for the theft of $4,305,000 in settlement funds" (from the Estate of Gloria Satterfield).

On June 16, the Supreme court issued an order directing Murdaugh to personally appear before the court on June 22 to present a legal argument on the question of whether he should be disbarred. That hearing was canceled after Murdaugh's attorneys filed an affidavit waiving all rights to a hearing and stating that Murdaugh did not wish to contest any decision involving disbarment.

While the court order notes that disbarment "is among the most serious sanctions this Court can impose for unethical conduct committed by members of the legal profession," it may not be the final sanction the Supreme Court imposes.

The order adds that Murdaugh's misconduct remains under investigation by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and that, if additional acts of misconduct are discovered, the Supreme Court my issue supplemental orders and impose additional sanctions, which could include fines and restitution.

Murdaugh is currently detained in Richland County's Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on a $7 million bond he has been unable to meet.