CLEVELAND — The judge who presided over the high-profile murder trial and conviction of South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was back in Cleveland on Tuesday.
Judge Clifton Newman, a 1976 graduate of Cleveland State University's law school, spoke to an audience at CSU's College of Law’s Moot Court Room.
Newman currently serves as a circuit court judge in South Carolina, where he was born and raised. He spoke about his journey to the bench during Tuesday's event, including first practicing law in Cleveland before returning to South Carolina in 1982 to start a private law practice. He then went from a defense attorney to a prosecutor.
Many questions Tuesday focused on the Murdaugh trial, what Judge Newman refers to as the most prominent of his 30-plus year career. Yet, he did not quite anticipate the case being so captivating nationwide.
"It was an important case, as all are," he said. "But any case where you have a murderer and a lawyer who's accused of stealing eight million dollars from his clients, admittedly strung out on drugs and a man who's accused of killing his wife and son and despite the fact that that would make folks interested, I believe when I decided to make entire process open to the public and open to the media nationwide and worldwide, I wasn't experiencing any of that, I was simply a judge in a trial doing my job as I've done repeatedly for years."
Murdaugh was a powerful attorney and part of a South Carolina legal dynasty that stretches back a century. He was found guilty for the 2021 murders of his wife and youngest son. Judge Newman sentenced Murdaugh to life in prison.
Judge Newman will be inducted into the CSU Law School Hall of Fame this November.