Erin Bailey Law

08/28/2026

An hour with CBS Sunday Morning. Eight minutes made air. Here’s what got cut.

When we arrest women over a positive THC test at birth, we are teaching pregnant women two things. Lie to your doctor. Or don’t go at all.

In the law we call that a chilling effect. And it doesn’t just hurt the women being arrested. It discourages medical care for the very children this enforcement claims to protect.

I told y’all I was never gonna stop talking about this. Full argument is on the blog, and Parts 1 through 3 are on my profile if you’re catching up. This series isn’t over because the practice isn’t over.

08/25/2026

Every single client I’ve had in the last month got one of these calls.

Your loved one gets arrested. Their picture goes up on the county website. Then a scammer calls, uses a real deputy’s name, and says your person can come home on house arrest for $1,000.

It’s a lie. No deputy will ever call you about bond. Not in Georgetown County, not anywhere in South Carolina.

The bond amount is public. It’s listed right next to the arrest record. That number is the number.

Only three people will ever legitimately contact you about posting bond. The person arrested, their lawyer, or a licensed bondsman. Anyone else, hang up.

I talked to a family who lost $1,500 to this. Please share this with someone who needs it.

CriminalDefense

08/20/2026

Everything you need to know about the Alex Murdaugh polygraph situation in one video. On August 16, 2026, in a pre-trial hearing, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian claimed Alex Murdaugh took a SLED polygraph and “passed with flying colors.” Days later, the prosecution filed a brief correcting the record. Apparently, after the first trial, Alex Murdaugh took an FBI polygraph relating to the location of his assets, and he did not pass it. Dick Harpootlian has now issued a letter to the court apologizing and saying he “conflated some facts.”

08/15/2026

Let’s talk about the red herrings thrown by the Defense team during the Murdaugh hearing on August 14, 2026.
1- The defense first claimed that there was a crime committed in a neighboring county with the same Blackout used in the Murdaugh crime. But within just a few minutes, prosecutors were able to put that to rest, telling the Judge that the only connection was that it was a Blackout, it was not THE blackout.
2- according to the Defense, cousin Eddie failed a polygraph specifically on the question of if he was responsible for the Murdaugh crime. Also, according to the Defense, Alex passed a polygraph “with flying colors.” Polygraphs are not admissible in court, so the entire thing was a sideshow for the media.

08/14/2026

Another pre-trial hearing in the Alex Murdaugh re-trial today. Here are the key takeaways:
1- the location of the trial is moving out of Colleton County and out of the 14th circuit. The Judge has not yet decided where the new trial will happen.
2- all of the investigative files from the alleged jury tampering case from the first trial involving the “egg juror” are being unsealed.
3- Alex Murdaugh’s testimony in the first trial will be used against him in the second trial.
4- the unused DNA collected from under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails will be sent to the Defense’s independent lab for processing.

08/13/2026

Outrageous. I told y’all I wasn’t gonna stop talking about women who get arrested and charged with a 10 year felony when they test positive for THC at the birth of their baby in South Carolina. I’m so grateful to the folks at CBS Sunday morning for giving this issue 12 whole minutes of broadcast television. I’m grateful to the Marshall Project, a non-profit reporting agency for digging in deep. And most of all, I’m grateful to my brave client who went on camera to tell her story even though her charge has been expunged.

08/10/2026

I told y’all I was never going to stop talking about women who get arrested when they test positive for THC at the birth of their babies. I am so grateful for The Marshall Project and CBS Sunday Morning for telling my client’s story with care. For those of you with short attention spans, our part begins 6 minutes in. 🎺🌞

In Idaho, new mothers have ended up on a child abuse registry after testing positive for THC – a chemical found in ma*****na. An investigation raises hard questions about who gets punished, and who doesn't.

08/06/2026

Every one of these cases I’ve handled ended in a dismissal. People hear that and think it turned out fine. It didn’t.

Here’s what dismissed doesn’t undo. This is a felony, so it sits on the mother’s record for months while it’s pending. 

South Carolina is a cash bond state, so she pays to get out and doesn’t get that back. 

She’s pulled away from her newborn at the arrest. One of my clients spent 24 hours in jail and was never able to breastfeed her baby again.

The charge gets erased. The damage doesn’t. And even after expungement, these charges sometimes still surface in background databases.

This is Part 3 of my Tested series.

If this happened to you or someone you love, what it cost you matters. It’s worth a conversation.

Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Georgetown

08/04/2026

I know the waiting is hard. But I need you to trust me.

When you hire me, I get to work immediately. Letters to the court, documentation to the prosecutor — done. And then we wait.

That part frustrates a lot of clients. I get it.

But here’s the truth: I’m playing chess, not checkers. The prosecutor and law enforcement have legal obligations. If they don’t meet them, we move for dismissal. I’m already thinking three steps ahead — building both substantive and procedural defenses.

Rushing isn’t always the right move. Setting the case up correctly is.

Trust the process. Trust your attorney. ♟️

KnowYourRights AttorneyLife

07/28/2026

Nothing changed about these moms in 2021. The test did.

I kept seeing women arrested for a positive THC test when they gave birth, and I wanted to know why it was suddenly so common. The answer wasn’t the mothers. It was a new test.

South Carolina started testing cord blood, the blood from the umbilical cord. It’s more sensitive and reaches further back, so it flags more people. 

And here’s what should stop you: this test has never been challenged at trial, not once that I know of. The cases get dismissed or the mom takes a deal, so the science behind it never gets checked.

This is Part 2 of my Tested series.

If you’re facing one of these cases, the test against you may not be as solid as it sounds. It’s worth a conversation.

Georgetown