Will Alex Murdaugh get a retrial after the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear his jury tampering appeal?

The decision comes after a judge earlier this year denied Murdaugh a new murder trial on charges of jury tampering.

Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh's appeal of jury tampering is now headed to the South Carolina Supreme Court, raising the possibility that the disgraced former attorney could be granted a retrial, according to multiple reports.

The court issued its order on Tuesday, August 13, sending the case bypassing the appeals court and directly to the Supreme Court, CNN, WYFF and WLTX reported.

According to CNN, Murdaugh's lawyers filed a motion in July with the Supreme Court to review the appeal, arguing that it “involves a matter of significant public interest and a legal principle of great importance that warrants admission.”

The decision came after a judge denied Murdaugh a new murder trial earlier this year because he accused Colleton County Clerk Rebecca Hill of jury tampering.

In March 2023, Murdaugh was found guilty of the 2021 murder of his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and his youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, 22. Both victims were found shot to death near the dog kennels on the 1,770-acre property in Islandton, South Carolina, where the family's hunting lodge was located. Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before returning the guilty verdicts.

Related: Everything you need to know about the Murdaugh family murders, including Alex's conviction

He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murders.

Murdaugh's defense attorneys Richard Harpootlian and James Griffin filed an appeal of his murder convictions shortly after the guilty verdict, accusing Hill of repeatedly mentioning Murdaugh to the jury in a way that made him appear guilty, according to a motion for a new trial previously reviewed by PEOPLE.

They also claimed she tried to exclude a juror who she was not confident would return a guilty verdict. Murdaugh's lawyers further alleged that Hill “pressured the jury to reach a verdict quickly by telling them from the beginning of their deliberations that 'it wouldn't take long,'” the motion said.

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“Ms. Hill did these things to secure a book deal and media appearances that would not have been available in the event of a mistrial,” the lawyers alleged. “Ms. Hill violated her oath of office for money and fame.”

Hill has published a book about the Murdaugh murder trial — Behind the doors of justice: The Murdaugh murders — in July 2023.

During a January hearing related to the motion, one juror – identified only as Juror Z – testified that comments made by Hill influenced her decision to convict Murdaugh and “made it look like he was already guilty.” The other 11 jurors denied that Hill influenced their guilty verdict. She also confirmed that she had previously stated that she was pressured by the other jurors to vote for a guilty verdict.

In her January ruling, now-retired Chief Justice Jean Toal said Murdaugh's defense must prove Hill influenced the jury with an inappropriate comment. While she noted that Hill was “not entirely credible as a witness” and was lured by celebrity, Toal found that jurors were not influenced by her comment, NBC News reported.

Related: Why Alex Murdaugh was denied a new trial despite a juror admitting she was influenced by the court clerk

“I simply do not believe that the Supreme Court of our State of South Carolina would require a retrial in a very lengthy case based on a few fleeting and foolish remarks by a publicity-seeking clerk,” Toal said at the time.

Hill has since resigned from her position as clerk of the court and is under government investigation over her alleged interactions with the jury in the Murdaugh trial and allegations that she abused her position for personal gain, WLTX reported.

After being convicted of double murder, Murdaugh returned to court to face several other legal cases.

Murdaugh was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison in April for multiple counts of fraudulently defrauding his clients. In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to money laundering, wire fraud and bank fraud, according to NBC News.

Murdaugh was previously sentenced to 27 years in prison in November 2023 after pleading guilty to 22 financial crimes, including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and more, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office confirmed to PEOPLE.

The Associated Press reported that his sentence in a federal prison will be served concurrently with his sentence in state prison.

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