This is directly from wiki and it discusses the 14th circuit district history.
14th Districtedit
A map showing the
judicial circuit districts of South Carolina
From 1920 to 2006, three members of the Murdaugh family served as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
circuit solicitors for the five-county area of
South Carolina's
Lowcountry region within the 14th Judicial district;
[2][3] the Murdaugh's influence in the area led to it being colloquially known as "Murdaugh Country."
[4] In South Carolina, the solicitor, analogous to the
district attorney in other U.S. jurisdictions, is in charge of
prosecuting all criminal cases in the jurisdiction.
[5] The
14th circuit district oversees
Allendale,
Colleton,
Hampton,
Beaufort, and
Jasper counties. It is the only judicial circuit in the state to cover five counties.
[6] According to columnist
Kathleen Parker, jurisdiction of the 14th circuit district was known as "Murdaugh Country", where the justice system of the 14th circuit district was regarded as rigged and local attorneys would make a motion to
settle a case rather than go to trial there.
[4]
The Murdaugh family was one of South Carolina's most prominent legal families for nearly a century and were featured in the cover story for a 1989 issue of
Carolina Lawyer magazine.
[7][8] Because of the family's decades-long control of the office of solicitor, they wielded enormous judicial and political power for almost a century.
[9] After several Murdaugh family members were implicated in a fatal boating accident in 2019, and after two family members were murdered in a
double homicide in 2021, the family's influence on the local judicial system was scrutinized.
[10]
Family law firmedit
The Murdaugh family law firm, formerly known as Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED), specialized in
personal injury litigation. PMPED built its success in the early 2000s due to a state law that made it easier for plaintiffs to
forum shop. The law permitted South Carolina residents "to file a suit in any county in which an out-of-state company own[ed] property and conduct[ed] business—regardless of where an accident took place."
[11] In Hampton County, trial judges generally avoided transferring cases, and plaintiffs' attorneys had a reputation for abusing
subpoena power. This legal climate led to the 14th circuit district being named the third worst "judicial hellhole for defendants" by the
American Tort Reform Association.
[12] Because of PMPED's success in suing
CSX Transportation, the county was known as a "site of pilgrimage" for those with personal injury lawsuits against railroads; PMPED's offices became known locally as "the house that CSX built".
[9] Due to the firm's activities, doing business in Hampton County became a legal liability, resulting in the county losing potential employers.
[11]
Reforms enacted in 2005 by both the
state supreme court and
state legislature changed South Carolina's corporate venue law, ending plaintiffs' ability to easily forum shop in Hampton County.
[13] PMPED changed its name to The Parker Law Group in 2022 shortly before Alex Murdaugh's murder trial.
[14]
about plagiarizing so I doubt her conscience runs deep.
