Accused Murdaugh accomplice Laffitte seeks statewide jury pool for fraud retrial

Attorneys for Russell Laffitte, the alleged accomplice in Alex Murdaugh’s financial crimes, say they want a jury drawn from a statewide pool for Laffitte’s upcoming retrial.

Saturation news coverage against Laffitte and Murdaugh has biased potential jurors in the Lowcountry area from which Laffitte’s jury is scheduled to be chosen, Laffitte’s lawyers argue in a motion filed Monday, Feb. 3.

“This particular case cries out for the use of a statewide jury,” Laffitte’s lawyers argue. “Mr. Laffitte is entitled to a fair trial, free from media publicity that prejudices jurors against him at the outset.”

In their 23-page filing, the lawyers argued “pervasive, negative pre-and post-trial publicity” about Laffitte and his associations with the “infamous” Alex Murdaugh, a convicted killer and confessed swindler, makes a fair and impartial trial for Laffitte unlikely.

The retrial of Laffitte is scheduled to start May 5.

If a statewide jury pool is not authorized, Laffitte’s retrial should be held in Florence, Columbia or Greenville, his lawyers argue. Such a transfer would “increase the likelihood of assuring Mr. Laffitte receives a fair trial,” lawyers argue.

Laffitte is the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank in Hampton.

Federal Judge Richard Gergel, in an order filed Tuesday, Feb. 4, has given government prosecutors 10 days to reply to Laffitte’s lawyers.

Laffitte, 53, was convicted of numerous bank fraud-related charges in November 2022 by a Charleston federal jury. During that widely-publicized trial, federal prosecutors presented evidence they said proved that Laffitte and Murdaugh worked together to use Laffitte’s bank to misappropriate money for both Murdaugh’s and Laffitte’s use.The money came from Murdaugh’s clients and had originated in Murdaugh’s law firm.

That jury was chosen from Lowcountry counties. After the trial, Gergel sentenced Laffitte to seven years in federal prison.

In November, Laffitte,was released from prison in November after the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction and 7-year prison sentence. He is under a $500,000 appearance bond, court records say.

The appeals court overturned Laffitte’s conviction because of Gergel’s replacement of a juror — not because of any issue connected to the criminal allegations.

The filing seeking a statewide jury pool for Laffitte’s second trial also presents a detailed look at media coverage in the case, including newspapers, television stations, podcasts and books.

Much of the coverage about Laffitte has been negative, and “the public denunciation (both intended and unintended) of Mr. Laffitte has, in essence, amounted to a media trial before he has even set foot into the courtroom for a retrial,” lawyers argue.

Court records also show that Shaun Kent, a prominent South Carolina criminal defense lawyer, will join Laffitte’s current defense team of Mark Moore, Cheryl Shoun and Michael Parente.

In March 2023, a Colleton County jury found Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. He is now serving two consecutive life sentences in state prison. Murdaugh, a disbarred lawyer, has also confessed to a string of white collar thefts from his law firm and former clients involving millions and has been sentenced in federal and state court for those crimes.

This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 12:06 PM.