Murdaugh jurist has sat for Oconee cases

Clifton Newman, the judge in the Murdaugh trial, has adjudicated matters in Oconee County — even though he’s a judge based in the low state town of Kingstree.  Research by Lisa Burton, the Oconee clerk of court, shows Judge Newman’s Oconee bench time included conducting post-conviction relief hearings in 2012.  He presided over court terms in Anderson County in 2005 and 2014.  By tradition, the court administration rotates judges across the circuits but, due to distance and other factors, it’s rare that a low state judge will be assigned to the upstate.