Frank Murphy

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other people named Frank Murphy, see Frank Murphy (disambiguation).

"Justice Murphy" redirects here. For other uses, see Justice Murphy (disambiguation).

Frank Murphy

Official portrait, 1940s

 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

In office

February 5, 1940[1] – July 19, 1949[1]

Nominated by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Preceded by Pierce Butler

Succeeded by Tom C. Clark

56th United States Attorney General

In office

January 2, 1939 – January 18, 1940

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Preceded by Homer Stille Cummings

Succeeded by Robert H. Jackson

35th Governor of Michigan

In office

January 1, 1937 – January 1, 1939

Lieutenant Leo J. Nowicki

Preceded by Frank Fitzgerald

Succeeded by Frank Fitzgerald

1st High Commissioner to the Philippines

In office

November 15, 1935 – December 31, 1936

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Preceded by Position established

Succeeded by J. Weldon Jones (Acting)

Governor General of the Philippine Islands

In office

July 15, 1933 – November 15, 1935

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Preceded by Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

Succeeded by Manuel L. Quezon (President)

55th Mayor of Detroit

In office

September 23, 1930 – May 10, 1933

Preceded by Charles Bowles

Succeeded by Frank Couzens

1st President of the United States Conference of Mayors

In office

1932–1933

Preceded by Position established

Succeeded by James Michael Curley

Associate Judge of the Detroit Recorder’s Court

In office
 January 1, 1924 – August 19, 1930[2][3]

Preceded by seat established[4][5]

Succeeded by John P. Scallen[6]

Personal details

Born William Francis Murphy

April 13, 1890

Harbor Beach, Michigan, U.S.

Died July 19, 1949 (aged 59)

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Resting place Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic Cemetery, Harbor

Beach, Huron County, Michigan

Political party Democratic

Education University of Michigan (BA, LLB)

Military service

Allegiance  United States

Branch/service  United States Army

Years of service 1917–1919 (active)

1942 (reserve)

Rank Lieutenant Colonel

Battles/wars World War I

 World War II

William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890 – July 19, 1949) was an American politician,
lawyer, and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme
Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving as United
States Attorney General, 35th Governor of Michigan, and Mayor of Detroit. He also
served as the last Governor-General of the Philippines and the first High Commissioner
to the Philippines.
Born in "The Thumb" region of Michigan, Murphy graduated from the University of
Michigan Law School in 1914. After serving in the United States Army during World War
I, he served as a federal attorney and trial judge. He served as Mayor of Detroit from
1930 to 1933 before accepting his appointment as Governor-General of the Philippine
Islands. He defeated incumbent Republican Governor Frank Fitzgerald in Michigan's
1936 gubernatorial election and served a single term as Governor of Michigan. Murphy
lost re-election to Fitzgerald in 1938 and accepted an appointment as the United States
Attorney General the following year.
In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Murphy to the Supreme Court to fill
a vacancy caused by the death of Pierce Butler. Murphy served on the Court from 1940
until his death in 1949, and was succeeded by Tom C. Clark. Murphy wrote the Court's
majority opinion in SEC v. W. J. Howey Co., and wrote a dissenting opinion
in Korematsu v. United States.

Early life[edit]
Murphy was born in Harbor Beach (then called Sand Beach), Michigan, in 1890.[7] Both
his parents, John T. Murphy and Mary Brennan, were Irish immigrants and raised him
as a devout Catholic.[8] He followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a lawyer. He
attended the University of Michigan Law School, and graduated with a BA in 1912 and
an LLB in 1914. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the senior
society Michigamua.[9]
Murphy was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1914, after which he clerked with a
Detroit law firm for three years. He then served with the American Expeditionary
Forces in Europe during World War I,[7] achieving the rank of captain with the occupation
army in Germany before leaving the service in 1919. He remained abroad afterward to
pursue graduate studies.[7] He did his graduate work at Lincoln's Inn in London
and Trinity College, Dublin, which was said to be formative for his judicial philosophy.
He developed a need to decide cases based on his more holistic notions of justice,
eschewing technical legal arguments. As one commentator quipped of his later
Supreme Court service, he "tempered justice with Murphy." [10]