Stephen Murphy (Michigan)
2008 - Present
16
Stephen Joseph Murphy III is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He joined the court in 2008 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
Early life and education
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Murphy obtained his bachelor's degree from Marquette University in 1984 and his J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law in 1987. During his legal studies, Murphy served as an editor of the university's law review and on the law school's moot court board. He won the White Family Fellowship in Public Law as a law student.[1][2]
Professional career
- 2008 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- 2008: Adjunct faculty, Thomas M. Cooley School of Law
- 2005-2008: U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan
- 2003: Adjunct faculty, Ave Maria School of Law
- 2000-2005: Counsel, General Motors Corporation
- 1995-2003: Adjunct professor, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
- 1992-2000: Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Michigan
- 1987-1992: Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice[1]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Michigan
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Stephen Joseph Murphy III |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 70 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
Murphy was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by President George W. Bush on April 15, 2008, to a seat vacated by Patrick Duggan. The American Bar Association rated Murphy Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Murphy's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 7, 2008, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on June 12, 2008. Murphy was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on June 24, 2008, and he received his commission on August 18, 2008.[1][3]
Noteworthy cases
Iron Workers Local 25 pension fund case (2011)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (In Re: Iron Workers Local 25 Pension Fund, 2:07-cv-12368-SJM-RSW)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (In Re: Iron Workers Local 25 Pension Fund, 2:07-cv-12368-SJM-RSW)
Plaintiffs brought the action claiming that the trustees of a multiemployer pension plan breached their fiduciary duties when arranging a contingent fee with counsel amounting to $36 million. Murphy held for the defendant trustees, holding that the plaintiffs failed to prove any of their claims against the trustees, and that the compensation was-among other factors- reasonable when arranged, and therefore reasonable during litigation.[4]
Disenfranchisement in Michigan (2008)
Prior to the 2008 Michigan general election, Judge Murphy ordered the Michigan Secretary of State and other Michigan election officials to restore voter registration to over 1,400 Michigan voters whose registrations had been canceled or rejected because of out-of state vehicle license registration or because of Postal service return of voter registration cards.[5]
City police arrest Christian evangelists seeking to convert Muslims
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ((dead link) Acts 17 Apologetics v. City of Dearborn, 11-10700)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ((dead link) Acts 17 Apologetics v. City of Dearborn, 11-10700)
Judge Murphy ruled in favor of a Christian evangelist organization, allowing them to survive a motion to dismiss and bring a civil conspiracy claim against a defendant business organization. Act 17, the Christian organization, was given leave to add the American Arab Chamber of Commerce as a defendant in their suit, in addition to the City of Dearborn and others. The complaint alleged that missionaries were unlawfully arrested for preaching the Gospel to Muslims at the 2010 Arab International Festival.[6]
Detroit School Board First Amendment case
Plaintiffs, Detroit Public Schools tenured teachers, sought an injunction to restore them to their teaching positions. The teachers argued that they were terminated due to their vocal opposition and involvement mass rally against the Board of Education of the City of Detroit's plan to close 38 schools. The Plaintiffs' claim asserted that the Board violated Plaintiffs' rights of speech and assembly in firing them for retaliatory reasons. Murphy granted the preliminary injunctive relief, thereby ordering that the teachers be returned to the schools and teaching positions they held prior to termination.[7]
See also
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Stephen Joseph Murphy III," accessed June 21, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication from Judge Murphy's staff," June 20, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1559 — Stephen Joseph Murphy III — The Judiciary," accessed June 21, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Does a $36 Million Attorney Fee Violate ERISA?" Summer 2012
- ↑ "ACLU" Judge Rules Michigan Voter Purge Program Violates Federal Law, October 13, 2008
- ↑ "Fighting for Faith and Freedom," Federal Judge: American Arab Chamber of Commerce Can Be Named as a Defendant in Civil Rights Lawsuit Involving Arrest of Christian Missionaries at Arab Festival
- ↑ Eastern District of Michigan, Conn v. Board of Education of the City of Detroit
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 2008-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan
State courts:
Michigan Supreme Court • Michigan Court of Appeals • Michigan Circuit Court • Michigan Court of Claims • Michigan District Courts • Michigan Municipal Courts • Michigan Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Michigan • Michigan judicial elections • Judicial selection in Michigan