Murdaugh Trial and Canon Law

Judge Clifton Newman, a shining star in the Murdaugh Trial.

Many people think that our legal system in the United States is the form other legal systems take.  That could not be further from reality, especially for canon law.  The Alex Murdaugh trial in South Carolina,  a state prosecuted case, is good  to use as a measuring stick to compare between a state legal system and canon law.

          There are many differences but three jump out as major differences.  Murdaugh demanded a jury trial of his peers.  The jury trial by your peers does not exist in canon law.  The closest we come to it is a “Turnus”, or three judge panel, used for certain cases or appeals.  There is a presiding judge but that is administrative rather than having more weight than anyone else on the turnus.  Canon law then does not have to worry about alternate jurors.  In Murdaugh the Judge dismissed one juror right before the deliberations began and kept two more on hand just in case.  In the canon law process, there is no speedy trial requirement so if a judge on the turnus gets sick or leaves on vacation, no harm, it will just pick up later, especially since most of their work is done by mail, snail or electronic. 

          The second point that stands out as a major difference is hearsay evidence.  It is totally admissible into the canon law case.  Not only can hearsay come in, but second and third degree hearsay is fine too.  So, in canon law, if your second cousin told your first cousin something and that first cousin then told me, I could repeat it into evidence.  The reason for limiting hearsay in a secular case (except for some exceptions like dying utterances) is that the original speaker (your second cousin) of the hearsay cannot be cross-examined if you are the only one testifying to it.  Good rule.  I cringe every time I see it in a canon law case. 

     And the final big, big difference is that the person being blamed or held liable for their actions (the defendant), is nowhere to be found during the “proceedings”.   He is not in any courtroom to face his accuser.  No high drama in canon law.  Murdaugh taking the stand was a breaking point according to the juror interview I heard post- trial.  Like I said, no high drama in canon law.

          There are many more differences between the real-world legal system and the Church’s.  Too many to deal with in one blog post, but the Murdaugh case is a good jumping off point for comparison and starting a discussion.