Could Alex Murdaugh Get a New Trial After S.C. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Jury Tampering Appeal?

The decision comes after a judge earlier this year denied Murdaugh a new murder trial on allegations of jury tampering

Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh's jury tampering appeal will be heard by the South Carolina State Supreme Court, opening the door to the possibility that the disgraced former attorney could be granted a new trial, according to multiple reports.

The court issued its order on Tuesday, Aug. 13, allowing the case to bypass the Court of Appeals and head straight to the high court, CNN, WYFF and WLTX reported.

According to CNN, Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a motion in July asking the high court to review the appeal, claiming it “concerns an issue of significant public interest and a legal principle of major importance warranting certification.”

The decision comes after a judge earlier this year denied Murdaugh a new murder trial after Murdaugh alleged jury tampering at the hands of Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill.

In March 2023, Murdaugh was found guilty of the 2021 murders of his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, and youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, 22.  Both victims were found shot to death near the dog kennels on the 1,770-acre property in Islandton, S.C., where the family's hunting lodge was located. Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before delivering the guilty verdicts.

Related: Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders, Including Alex's Conviction

He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison for the murders.

Murdaugh’s defense attorneys Richard Harpootlian and James Griffin appealed his murder convictions soon after the guilty verdict. They accused Hill of repeatedly referencing Murdaugh to the jury in ways that made him appear guilty, according to a motion for a new trial previously reviewed by PEOPLE.

They also claimed she made efforts to remove a juror she wasn’t confident would turn in a guilty verdict. Murdaugh’s attorneys further alleged that Hill “pressured the jurors to reach a quick verdict, telling them from the outset of their deliberations that it ‘shouldn’t take them long,’” the motion stated.

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"Ms. Hill did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial," the attorneys claimed. "Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame."

Hill released a book about the Murdaugh murder trial — Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders — in July 2023.

During a January hearing in connection with the motion, one juror — identified only as Juror Z — testified that comments from Hill influenced her decision to convict Murdaugh and “made it seem like he was already guilty." The other 11 jurors denied that Hill influenced their guilty verdict. She also confirmed that she previously stated that she was pressured by the other jurors to vote for a guilty verdict.

In her January ruling, now-retired Chief Justice Jean Toal said Murdaugh's defense needed to show Hill influenced the jury with an improper comment.  While she found Hill was "not completely credible as a witness" and was lured by celebrity, Toal found the jurors were not influenced by her comment, NBC News reported.

Related: Why Alex Murdaugh Wasn't Granted a New Trial, Even Though 1 Juror Admitted She Was Influenced by Clerk

"I simply do not believe that our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-seeking clerk of court," Toal said at the time.

Hill has since resigned as clerk of court and is under state investigation for her alleged interactions with the jury in the Murdaugh trial, as well as allegations that she used her position for personal gain, WLTX reported.

After the double murder conviction, Murdaugh returned to court to face several other legal matters.

Murdaugh was sentenced in April to 40 years in federal prison for multiple fraud schemes to steal from his clients. He pleaded guilty in September 2023 to money laundering, wire fraud and bank fraud, per NBC News.

Murdaugh was previously sentenced to 27 years in prison in November 2023 after pleading guilty to 22 financial crimes, including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and more, the South Carolina Attorney General's office previously confirmed to PEOPLE.

His federal sentence is running concurrently with his state prison time, the Associated Press reported.

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