On Sunday, May 4, 2025, The Post and Courier reported that a South Carolina judicial oversight body dismissed a complaint against a Lowcountry judge accused of assisting disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh in concealing assets from creditors in a civil lawsuit.

The state Supreme Court’s Commission on Judicial Conduct cleared First Circuit Judge Carmen T. Mullen of Hilton Head, rejecting allegations filed in 2022 by First Circuit Deputy Solicitor David Pascoe.

Pascoe’s complaint centered on a $4.3 million settlement Mullen approved in 2021 between Murdaugh and the family of his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died after a 2018 fall at Murdaugh’s Colleton County hunting lodge. Pascoe alleged Mullen knowingly signed off on the settlement in a manner that kept it off public court records, shielding Murdaugh’s insurance payout from attorneys suing him over a 2019 fatal boat crash. The crash, which killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, occurred on a boat owned by Murdaugh and allegedly operated by his intoxicated son, Paul. Mullen had recused herself without explanation from the Beach family’s wrongful death lawsuit against Murdaugh in April 2019, one month before approving the Satterfield settlement.

The complaint referenced testimony from Chad Westendorf, a former Palmetto State Bank vice president and personal representative for Satterfield’s estate, who claimed Mullen agreed to a plan to hide the settlement to protect it from discovery by Beach case attorneys.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct, after reviewing Pascoe’s allegations, Mullen’s response, and an investigation by Disciplinary Counsel, dismissed the complaint in an April 14, 2025, letter obtained through a public records request.

Murdaugh, now 56, later stole the Satterfield settlement funds, which were intended for the housekeeper’s family, who were unaware the case had been settled. This theft was part of a broader scheme in which Murdaugh embezzled nearly $11 million from multiple victims, leading to additional prison time beyond his life sentences for the 2021 murders of his wife and son at the same Colleton County property.

Mullen, a 2006-elected judge in South Carolina’s 14th Circuit, graduated from the University of South Carolina’s law school alongside Murdaugh. She could not be reached for comment on the commission’s decision. The 14th Circuit, covering the state’s southeastern region, has long been influenced by the Murdaugh family, who operated a prominent law firm and served as the area’s chief prosecutors for generations.

Eric Bland, an attorney representing Satterfield’s son after the settlement theft came to light, also filed a complaint against Mullen regarding her handling of the case. Bland reported on the Cup of Justice podcast that his complaint was dismissed without discussion by the commission. Pascoe, who has lodged multiple complaints against Mullen, confirmed the dismissal letter’s case number matched his Satterfield-related filing but declined further comment.

Separately, Pascoe and Bland raised concerns about a 2017 incident involving Mullen and Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies. On December 7, 2017, deputies responded to a Hilton Head Island resident’s request to remove Ernest Lotito, a former lawyer with mental health issues, from her property. An incident report and audio recording indicate Mullen, a nearby resident, pressed deputies to arrest Lotito, suggesting they transport him to a gas station where he faced a trespassing order or charge him with disorderly conduct or harassment. Deputies declined, with one labeling the suggestion as entrapment. Mullen later denied abusing her judicial authority, stating she was trying to assist Lotito. Complaints about this incident remain under review by the commission, with no decision timeline disclosed.

 

 

Source: The Post and Courier