SOUTH CAROLINA — Alex Murdaugh filed a civil rights lawsuit on Sunday in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina against former court clerk Rebecca "Becky" Hill. The filing came four days after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh's double murder convictions and life sentence.

The lawsuit seeks $600,000 in monetary damages along with attorney's fees and costs, according to Murdaugh's legal team. "Mr. Murdaugh brings this action to hold Ms. Hill accountable for her wrongful conduct under color of state law and to recover compensatory and punitive damages as provided by law," the complaint states. Attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin are expected to address the lawsuit at a press conference Monday afternoon.

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Murdaugh was denied his right to a fair trial because of Hill's "improper external influences on the jury," the court found, and that Hill "placed her fingers on the scales of justice." During Murdaugh's murder trial, Hill was tasked with overseeing the jury. People in that administrative role are typically responsible for bringing jurors to the courtroom and ferrying notes between the panel and the court during deliberations.

Hill pleaded guilty last year to obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office for showing sealed court exhibits to a photographer and lying about it in court. She was sentenced to a year of probation. "There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I'm ashamed of them," Hill said. Hill denied improperly influencing the jury.

Murdaugh, a disbarred personal injury lawyer, was convicted in June 2021 of the murders of his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, and their 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh. The jury convicted him on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime after he pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors accused Murdaugh of carrying out the killings to earn pity and distract from financial crimes that threatened to derail his public reputation. He has denied killing his wife and younger son since their bodies were discovered on his estate.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, whose office prosecuted the case, said his office was unaware of Hill's alleged conduct during the trial and described the allegations as inappropriate but ultimately harmless. He strongly disagreed with the state Supreme Court's ruling and vowed to retry the case by the end of the year. "In light of the Supreme Court's decision, we're back to square one on this case, and that means all our legal options are on the table, including the death penalty," Wilson said.

Murdaugh remains behind bars on concurrent sentences of 27 years and 40 years for state and federal financial crimes to which he pleaded guilty, including defrauding his clients of millions of dollars.