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Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr. (January 15, 1915 – February 5, 1998) was an American attorney who served as the circuit solicitor of South Carolina's 14th judicial district from 1940 until his retirement in 1986. He was the second patriarch of the Murdaugh family from 1940 until the 1980s.

Early life, education, and early career

Murdaugh was born in Varnville, South Carolina on January 15, 1915, to Randolph Murdaugh Sr. and Etta Causey Harvey. He earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1938, and afterward moved to Hampton, South Carolina to practice at law. He also worked for his father as an assistant solicitor and served as president of the Hampton County Young Democrats.

Circuit solicitor

Murdaugh announced his campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination to succeeded his father as Circuit solicitor of South Carolina's 14th judicial district, a week after his death in July 1940. He won the 1940 special election and served until 1986. In his forty-six years in office, Murdaugh ran opposed only twice. A few months after the death of his father, Murdaugh sued the Charleston and Western Carolina Railway, claiming that poor maintenance of the rail crossing had contributed to the accident causing his father's death. Although there were rumors that the crash was no accident, with some believing that Murdaugh Sr. intentionally stopped his car on the tracks to commit suicide or that the crash was alcohol-related, Charleston and Western Carolina RW settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.

Murdaugh was known for "his love of chewing tobacco, his courtroom prowess, and his flair for acting out murders before spellbound juries." According to Professor John Blume of Cornell Law School, the South Carolina Supreme Court rebuked Murdaugh several times for improper closing arguments in death penalty cases and for arguing in a rape case that if the defendant was acquitted he would release other accused rapists. In 1956, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly warning a bootlegger to move a moonshine still into a neighboring county to avoid the revenuers; he was acquitted.

Retirement, death, and legacy

Murdaugh retired in 1986 and was succeeded by his son, Randolph Murdaugh III. He died on February 5, 1998. His contributions to South Carolina were honored by a house resolution in the South Carolina House of Representatives during the 118th South Carolina legislature.

A portrait of Murdaugh hangs in the Colleton County Courthouse. The painting was temporarily removed for six weeks during the trial of Alex Murdaugh on the order of Judge Clifton Newman.

References

1. ^ "H*4981". South Carolina General Assembly. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
2. "Murdaugh's Son Candidate for Solicitor's Post". The State. July 23, 1940. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
3. "Palmetto Briefs". The Item. July 24, 1940. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
4. "14th Circuit Solicitor's Office History". scsolicitor14.org. 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
5. DeWitt, Michael M. (June 24, 2021). "Throwback Thursday: The Randolph Murdaughs of Hampton County". Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
6. Brockell, Gillian (March 3, 2023). "A Murdaugh family death in 1940 was also suspicious — and eerily similar". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
7. ^ Monk, John; Delaney, Cody (April 5, 2019). "Powerful SC family faces scrutiny following boat crash that killed 19-year-old woman". The State. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
8. Mehrotra, Kriti (February 23, 2023). "Murdaugh Family Tree, Fully Explained". TheCinemaholic. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
9. Shaw, Amanda (March 13, 2023). "Murdaugh portrait returned to courthouse after murder trial". WHNS. Retrieved September 22, 2023.

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• 1915 births
• 1998 deaths
• 20th-century South Carolina politicians
• Murdaugh family
• People from Hampton County, South Carolina
• South Carolina Democrats
• South Carolina state solicitors
• University of South Carolina School of Law alumni
• 20th-century American lawyers