Convicted Hampton banker, alleged Murdaugh accomplice requests new trial after jury controversy

Attorneys for former Hampton banker Russell Laffitte, convicted and alleged accomplice of notorious former South Carolina attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, have filed motions seeking a new federal trial for their client and seeking to seal jury information after a controversy over the dismissal of two jurors.

Earlier this year, Laffitte was indicted in both state and federal courts for charges that included bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and misapplication of bank funds in connection with Murdaugh's alleged decade-long, multi-county financial crime spree.

After a multiple-week trail in U.S. District Court in Charleston that began Nov. 8, Laffitte was found guilty on all six federal charges after a late-night jury session Nov. 22. Laffitte has yet to be sentenced.

However, the case is far from over in the eyes of Laffitte's criminal defense team, attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Charleston.

On Dec. 6, Daniel and Austin filed a 35-page motion seeking a new trial or a judgement for acquittal for their convicted client, and on Dec. 20 filed a motion requesting a hearing on the matter in federal court.

The motion contends that, after "nearly ten hours of deliberations, two jurors were improperly dismissed andreplaced with alternates, only to have a newly constituted jury return a guilty verdict 40 minutes later. One of those jurors requested removal based on her dissenting status, and the error in her removal constitutes a miscarriage of justice."

One juror was removed because she was feeling "serious anxiety," and another said she was "pressured" by other jurors to change her decision.

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The motion also states, "While Mr. Laffitte consented to the removal of one juror based on the information he had at the time and after the Court made clear that a recess for the evening was not acceptable, counsel was neither asked to consent to the removal of the second, and indeed, was not even present when that decision was made."

Laffitte's objection also contends that there were viable alternatives to jury dismissal, the new jury was not instructed to begin deliberations "anew," and Laffitte was "prejudiced by excusing the jurors."

In addition to other objections centered around alleged legal technicalities and "insufficiency of the Government’s evidence," the motion also contends that the federal government erred "in refusing to admit evidence involving dissent and disagreement within Palmetto State Bank motivating board members’ testimony; in refusing to admit evidence of Alex Murdaugh’s illegal negotiation of checks with Bank of America; and in failing to instruct the jury on Mr. Laffitte’s advice-of-counsel defense given the evidence presented."

On Dec. 7, federal judge Richard M. Gergel instructed federal prosecutors to file their response to this motion within 14 days.

On Dec. 20, Laffitte's attorneys filed a motion to seal to seal the affidavits of the two dismissed jurors pending the possible new trial.

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The affidavits describe alleged "improper influences on jury deliberations," the experiences of the two jurors, and the circumstances surrounding their removal.

Specifically, the motions requests the court seal the documents to protect the personal information contained within these documents and to avoid public disclosure of the jurors’ names.

Releasing the juror's personal information, the latest motion contends, would cause safety concerns and "would cause irreparable harm in exposing these two individuals to harassment and scrutiny."

Judge Gergel approved the motion to seal the affidavits in a Dec. 21 court order, but stated that Laffitte's attorneys must file a memorandum of law further explaining and defending their position before the court will accept the jurors' affidavits, adding that "Rule 606(b) provides very limited circumstances in which a court may receive 'a jurors affidavit or evidence of a jurors statement...'."

With the holidays ahead, it is unclear when hearings will be scheduled for these matters.

No trial date has been set in state circuit court for Laffitte's bank fraud and conspiracy charges from the SC State Grand Jury. Laffitte remains out on bond and on modified house arrest.

No trial date has been set for Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes, although he is set to stand trial in Colleton County on Jan. 23 on charges he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in June of 2021. Murdaugh remains jailed in Richland County on a $7 million bond.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Murdaugh saga: Convicted banker, alleged accomplice seeks new trial