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Home · News

Black Excellence: Meet The Divine 9 Judge Who Rose From Segregated Schools To Presiding Over The Alex Murdaugh Trial

Judge Clifton Newman, a longtime member of Kappa Alpha Psi, became a bright light in one of the most closely-watched criminal trials.
Black Excellence: Meet The Divine 9 Judge Who Rose From Segregated Schools To Presiding Over The Alex Murdaugh Trial
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By Melissa Noel · Updated March 6, 2023

Judge Clifton Newman presided over the high profile murder trial of disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh for nearly six weeks. Before sentencing Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences on Friday, Newman delivered an extraordinary 15-minute admonition to the once prominent attorney.

Judge Newman was highly personal and stark in his remarks at the sentencing hearing where he spoke at length about the case which he called “most troubling” he has seen. “I’m sure Maggie and Paul visit you every night when you try to go to sleep,” Newman told Murdaugh on Friday, referring to Murdaugh’s wife and son. “They will continue to do so and will reflect on the last time they looked you in the eyes.” 

A jury found Murdaugh guilty on Thursday of gunning down his wife and youngest son at the family’s estate in June of 2021.

While Newman said he understood the state’s decision not to pursue the death penalty, he commented on the weight of Murdaugh’s conviction and sentence in light of his family’s historic influence in the Low Country courts.

“As I sit here in this courtroom and look at the portraits of many judges and court officials … your family, including you, have been prosecuting people in this courtroom and many [defendants] have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct,” he said. 

The judge also expressed how “heartbreaking” it was to see Murdaugh, a once-respected lawyer whom he had met numerous times in court and socially, go from being portrayed as a grieving father and husband to being convicted of murder.

For many, the optics of watching Newman, a Black judge rule with such finality over the fate of the scion of one of the most powerful legal families in South Carolina was striking. 

Who Is Judge Clifton Newman?

Clifton Newman was born in Kingstree, South Carolina in 1951, the son l. He was the son of a revered preacher and a domestic worker. He graduated valedictorian from Williamsburg County Training School in 1969, which was segregated at the time. He attended Cleveland State University in Ohio for his undergraduate studies and then earned his law degree from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1976.

An Esteemed Career In The Legal Field Sparked By The Fight For Equality 

Newman’s desire to become a lawyer was sparked by the experience of playing the role of an attorney in a high school play based on the 1954 school desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education, according to his court bio. 

In May 2000, after 24 years as a practicing attorney and 17 years as Assistant Solicitor, Judge Newman was elected Circuit Court Judge by the South Carolina General Assembly.

“I enjoy the responsibility, the awesome responsibility,” he told the American Bar Association in 2017. “It’s also a challenge, carrying the weight of the judicial system on your shoulders and seeking to dispense justice in a way that it should be dispensed.”

 Judge Newman is a member of the Ohio and South Carolina Bar Associations and is on the Executive Board of The I. DeQuincey Newman Institute for Peace and Social Change. He is  also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Judge Newman has received historical preservation awards for his work in restoring historic buildings in Kingstree and Columbia. Among his numerous accomplishments Judge Newman cites his designation as Patriarch of the Miles Newman Family as one of his most cherished.

Family Life 

Newman is married to his wife  Patricia Blanton of 45 years. The couple have four children together: Corwyn, Jocelyn, Kellee, and Brian DeQuincey. Their daughter, Jocelyn, is also a circuit court judge like her father, while their 40-year-old son, Brian, served as a Columbia city councilman until his untimely death  due to  what was described by the family as a cardiac event in January of this year. 

The judge’s handling of the Murdaugh trial during a devastating, personal loss just weeks before the trial has been commended. He is serving his fourth and final term as a judge with the South Carolina Circuit Court.

TOPICS:  Judge Clifton Newman Murdaugh Murder Trial
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