{"id":2892,"date":"2026-07-08T13:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:41:17","slug":"murdaugh-judge-debra-mccaslin-a-bona-fide-member-of-scs-close-knit-legal-tribe-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892","title":{"rendered":"Murdaugh Judge Debra McCaslin: a bona fide member of SC\u2019s close-knit legal tribe"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a judge.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a crook.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Not just any crook but South Carolina\u2019s most notorious criminal, convicted of major financial crimes and facing a retrial in an infamous double-murder case.<\/p>\n

Read more Murdaugh Judge Debra McCaslin: a bona fide member of SC\u2019s close-knit legal tribe<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She’ll preside at that retrial.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But long before the name of Alex Murdaugh became a synonym for villainy, the paths of Judge Debra McCaslin and the accused killer crossed at the University of South Carolina School of Law where they were students. They no doubt knew each other, or at least knew of<\/i> each other.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody knew who everybody was. It was a small law school, the only one in the state. You knew the people in the two classes ahead of you, and the two classes behind you,\u201d said Columbia attorney Alex Postic, who was in the same law school class as Murdaugh and also knew McCaslin. (Back then, and for much of her career, McCaslin went by the name of Debbie Chapman, after her first husband.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCaslin was class of 1993. Murdaugh was right behind her, class of 1994.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She smoked cigarettes back then and friends say she still has a hoarseness in her voice from years of smoking. Murdaugh was a tall gangly fellow who was good at schmoozing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They couldn\u2019t be more different.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She grew up, one of six children, in a small rural community, and worked her way through college. An early marriage before law school foundered because of her then husband\u2019s \u201chabitual drunkenness,\u201d according to her biographical information she gave to a judicial screening commission. She is around 66.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Murdaugh had it easy: He was a fourth-generation member of a wealthy and powerful Lowcountry legal dynasty. While he was anointed by family to a lawyer\u2019s life of big money and big cases and dealmaking, she hustled to make connections and by dint of hard work proved her chops in federal as well as state court, in appellate work and in the courtroom trial arena of He is 58.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

No one knows what a judge is thinking, but it is possible that McCaslin has reflected, perhaps more than once, on how strange life is, where Murdaugh, her privileged former law school fellow student, has wound up before her charged with killing his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. That\u2019s not to mention the dozens of financial crimes to which Murdaugh has pleaded guilty in, thefts totalling millions of dollars from clients, his law firm and even his family.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And should he be found guilty, she will pronounce his sentence.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Connections count<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The intersection of the judge\u2019s and the defendant\u2019s lives is just one illustration of the semicozy nature of South Carolina\u2019s legal universe \u2014 a world where everyone seems to have at most one or two degrees of separation from everyone else, either through family, social or legal or law school connections.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Another connection: McCaslin has a link to Dick Harpootlian, the most colorful of all Murdaugh\u2019s five lawyers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCaslin met Harpootlian \u2014 a quick-with-a-quote former prosecutor, former state senator and Democratic operative \u2014 early in her career. She was impressed enough with him to regard him as a role model. Harpootlian was one of only three older lawyers who she put in that category.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you he is a great trial lawyer,\u201d McCaslin said about Harpootlian\u2019s trial skills while being interviewed by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission in 2019 as she sought a state judge\u2019s post for the first time. They worked together defending video poker owners, whose addictive machines that raked in millions of dollars were being seized by law enforcement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Judges don\u2019t usually talk with the media; McCaslin is not giving interviews.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Consequently, two interviews that McCaslin had with the Judicial Merit Selection Commission \u2014 one in 2019 and the other in 2025 \u2014 as her first six-year term was expiring \u2014 will likely be the source of much of what people know about McCaslin from her own lips between now and April 5, when Murdaugh\u2019s retrial is scheduled to get underway. The commission screens judicial applicants.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the 2019 screening hearing, McCaslin mentioned two other lawyers she met early on in her career she regarded as role models: Columbia attorneys Pete Strom and Leigh Leventis.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Strom taught her how to \u201cquote a fee,\u201d McCaslin said, describing a term for how defense lawyers use to decide how much money to charge a client, an assessment based on the difficulty of the case, the nature of the client and how much the client can afford to pay.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On agreeing to take a client, defense lawyers usually name a one-time upfront fee to carry them through trial or a guilty plea; consequently, an important skill for a lawyer is knowing what to charge in order to make a profit. Strom is known for charging ample fees that clients will accept.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Strom also taught her, by his example, to keep up with her law office\u2019s expenses and to work hard, she said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As for Leventis, he taught her to be kind to people and attend to details in relationships. \u201cHe taught me to dot my I\u2019s, cross my T\u2019s; if I see an officer, I need to ask about his children. I get along with both sides. I think I have a very good rapport with them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hell\u2019s Angels and DUIs<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

In her 2019 appearance before the judicial selection panel, McCaslin stressed her experience as a defense lawyer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you I have tried so many cases. I\u2019ve tried DUIs in a barn in Lancaster. I\u2019ve argued cases in the 4th Circuit (Court of Appeals). I think I\u2019ve had like 43 briefs I\u2019ve written for the 4th Circuit over the past 26 years. I think I\u2019ve argued there six times. I\u2019ve done murder. I\u2019ve done high profile cases. I represented a family court judge. I represented the Hells Angels. Oh, I did the church burning cases,\u201d McCaslin told the panel.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCaslin also told the panel her favorite judge was U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a respected jurist now approaching 80 and still on the bench. Last year, Currie received national publicity when she threw out criminal cases brought by President Donald Trump\u2019s Justice Department against two of Trump\u2019s political foes.<\/p>\n

Read more Prison employee was fired and arrested, South Carolina officials say. Here\u2019s why<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s smart as a whip,\u201d McCaslin said of Currie. \u201cShe\u2019s even-keeled. I think she\u2019s made me a better lawyer today. She\u2019s always courteous and treats you with respect. Just a great judge. And I can promise you my preparedness and knowledge, half the battle, I learned that from her.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How McCaslin got into law<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

At the hearing, Strom \u2014 then a member of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission \u2014 told a story about how McCaslin got her start.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After high school she was working in the Red and White grocery store in Chapin outside Columbia as a 17-year-old cashier. In walks the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, then out campaigning and likely in his 70s. Almost immediately, Thurmond \u2014 famous for creating and maintaining political networks \u2014 recognized that McCaslin had a spark of talent.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cHe offered her a job in Charleston. And she moved to Charleston, worked full time and went to the College of Charleston,\u201d Strom said. In her job, she worked with federal judges \u2014 Thurmond being a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee \u2014 and the judges decided that she needed to go to law school, Strom said at the hearing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThose judges raised the money for her books. I remember somebody else bought her a computer,\u201d Strom said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The judges made sure that lawyers they knew hired McCaslin to work as a law clerk, said Strom, explaining he was one of those lawyers who got a call requesting he hire McCaslin as a clerk while she was in law school.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Leventis, the Columbia lawyer who gave McCaslin her first job after law school in the 1990s, offers a clue as to what big-time politicians and judges saw in her and how she turned out as a lawyer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always moving. I hate to use the word \u2018hustled\u2019 \u2014 but she worked hard. She was never a nine-to-five lawyer. And she had tons of personality. She\u2019s always happy, always enthusiastic. You feel good around her. When she started practicing law, she had confidence but not arrogance. And she was comfortable in any situation with all elements of society,\u201d Leventis said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Also, said Leventis: \u201cShe doesn\u2019t like to leave anything undone.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2018You can sit down now, Mr. Murdaugh\u2019<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Leventis said McCaslin\u2019s firm but understated way of doing things was on display at the first Murdaugh pretrial hearing on June 22 at the Lexington County courthouse, a hearing broadcast by Court TV. Although many court hearings start late (the joke is, \u201cWhen does court start? When the judge gets here\u201d), this hearing started almost exactly when McCaslin said it would \u2014 at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

During the hourlong hearing in a windowless fourth floor courtroom, McCaslin set a trial date of April 5. She did a lot of listening to the defense and prosecution. And she deferred decisions on matters such as where the trial would be held and what to do about DNA evidence the defense says it needs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Only once did she speak to Murdaugh.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Toward the end of the hearing, Harpootlian had Murdaugh stand to show the judge how many chains he was wearing. \u201cThis guy\u2019s not a serial killer,\u201d Harpootlian told McCaslin as he argued that if video and photographic images of Murdaugh in chains and jump suit were widely circulated, that would prejudice potential jurors.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After 15 seconds of Murdaugh standing, McCaslin said in a low voice as Harpootlian talked on, \u201cYou can sit down now, Mr. Murdaugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Murdaugh sat.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCaslin also revealed that she had contacted the warden of the high security state prison where Murdaugh is being held to gather information pertaining to letting him have access to a laptop computer holding tens of thousands of pages of evidence and transcripts from the first trial. The S.C. Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh\u2019s double-murder conviction in May, saying that improper jury tampering by a clerk of court had denied him a fair trial.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCaslin also brought a checklist of items she wanted to air and ticked them off methodically. A dozen or so burly officers from the state prison and local law enforcement were stationed around the courtroom.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was in control, it was her courtroom, but she was respectful, kind and nice to everybody. She gave everybody a chance to say what they wanted to say, and at the end of the day, she told everybody what was going to happen. She was in control, but not with an iron hand,\u201d said Leventis, who watched the hearing on Court TV.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The \u2018client whisperer\u2019<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Jim May, a former federal prosecutor, said McCaslin was known for having a great way with difficult clients. Federal Judge Joe Anderson would assign McCaslin as a court-appointed attorney to problem defendants who had gone through several lawyers, May said<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cShe could connect with difficult clients better than anyone else,\u201d said May, now in private practice in Columbia. \u201cShe had the ability to get through when other lawyers could not. A lot of clients have issues with government-paid lawyers because the clients think the lawyers are just a shill for the government,\u201d May said. \u201cHer clients really trusted her.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

An ability to get along with hard to manage clients earned her the nickname \u201cclient whisperer,\u201d McCaslin told her 2019 judicial panel.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At that hearing, McCaslin summed herself up this way: \u201cI hope I\u2019m judge material. I\u2019d like to think I am. I do think I am. You know, what else would you want other than somebody who would sit and listen to you, who at least knows the law, can research. But I think listening to most people is probably the most important thing. And treating them with respect. And I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Data center developer, local SC government skirted public input, residents suit says<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s cozy but not corrupt, lawyers say. Law school students become lawyers. Lawyers become judges. 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And everyone knows someone who knows someone in SC\u2019s legal world.","og_url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892","og_site_name":"US Moving Experts","article_published_time":"2026-07-08T13:41:17+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"headline":"Murdaugh Judge Debra McCaslin: a bona fide member of SC\u2019s close-knit legal tribe","datePublished":"2026-07-08T13:41:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892"},"wordCount":2047,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9f064d473549ed40e8a4a2280740c9a2.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892","name":"Murdaugh Judge Debra McCaslin: a bona fide member of SC\u2019s close-knit legal tribe - US Moving Experts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9f064d473549ed40e8a4a2280740c9a2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-08T13:41:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9f064d473549ed40e8a4a2280740c9a2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9f064d473549ed40e8a4a2280740c9a2.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"State Judge Debra McCaslin oversees a judicial hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh will be retried in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son, after his original conviction was overturned due to jury tampering."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2892#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Murdaugh Judge Debra McCaslin: a bona fide member of SC\u2019s close-knit legal tribe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/","name":"US Moving Experts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}