William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890 – July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge from Michigan. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940. Before this, he had a 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.

Murphy was born in the "Thumb" region of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1914. After serving in the United States Army during World War I, he worked as a federal attorney and trial judge. He was Mayor of Detroit from 1930 to 1933. A group of 69 scholars in 1993 ranked him among the ten best mayors in American history. In 1933, he was appointed Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. He returned to the United States in 1936 and won the 1936 Michigan gubernatorial election against the Republican candidate, Frank Fitzgerald. He served one term as Governor of Michigan. Murphy lost the 1938 re-election to Fitzgerald and was later appointed United States Attorney General in 1939.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Murphy to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Pierce Butler, who had died. Murphy served on the Court until his death in 1949. He was succeeded by Tom C. Clark. Murphy wrote the Court’s majority opinions in the cases Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire and SEC v. W. J. Howey Co.. He also wrote a dissenting opinion in the case Korematsu v. United States.

Early life

Murphy was born in Harbor Beach (then called Sand Beach), Michigan, in 1890. His parents, John T. Murphy and Mary Brennan, were Irish immigrants who raised him as a devout Catholic. He became a lawyer, following in his father’s footsteps. 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.

Murphy was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1914. After that, he worked as a clerk for a law firm in Detroit for three years. He then served in the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I, reaching the rank of captain in the occupation army in Germany before leaving the military in 1919. Afterward, he stayed abroad to continue his education. He studied at Lincoln’s Inn in London and Trinity College, Dublin, experiences that shaped his ideas about justice. He believed in making decisions based on a broader understanding of fairness, rather than focusing only on technical legal details. One person once said that during his time on the Supreme Court, he "tempered justice with Murphy."

Career

Murphy was appointed as the first Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan on August 9, 1919. He took the oath of office and was one of three assistant attorneys in the office at that time.

When Murphy began his work as a federal attorney, the office had more cases to handle because of the many legal cases related to enforcing national prohibition. The government’s success in winning court cases in the Eastern District was partly because Murphy won almost all the cases he handled. While working as a federal attorney, Murphy also practiced law privately, but only a little. He left his job as a United States attorney on March 1, 1922. Although he had offers to join private law firms, he chose to start his own practice with Edward G. Kemp in Detroit.

In 1920, Murphy ran for the United States Congress as a Democrat but did not win. At that time, Republicans were winning many elections in Michigan. However, Murphy used his legal reputation and growing political connections to win a seat on the Recorder’s Court, which is Detroit’s criminal court. In 1923, he was elected judge of the Recorder’s Court by a large majority of voters. He took office on January 1, 1924, and served for seven years during the time when alcohol was banned in the United States.

As a judge, Murphy became known for his work in trials. He presided over the murder trials of Dr. Ossian Sweet and his brother, Henry Sweet, in 1925 and 1926. Clarence Darrow, a well-known lawyer, defended the Sweet brothers. After a trial where all the Black defendants were found not guilty, Henry Sweet was retried separately and was found not guilty by a jury of all white people. The prosecution then decided not to charge the other defendants. Murphy’s decisions during the trial were important in the outcome of the case.

In 1930, Murphy ran as a Democrat and was elected mayor of Detroit. He served from 1930 to 1933, during the early years of the Great Depression. During his time as mayor, many people in Detroit were unemployed. In the summer of 1931, about 100,000 people were without jobs. Murphy created a committee of private citizens to find people who needed help. The committee raised money to provide food and clothing to those in need. A group within the committee also helped people with legal problems. In 1933, Murphy organized the first meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors in Detroit. He met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was elected the first president of the group. He held this position from 1932 to 1933.

Murphy supported President Roosevelt and his New Deal programs. He helped Roosevelt win the state of Michigan in 1932, which was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had won the state since 1852.

In 1993, a survey of historians, political scientists, and urban experts ranked Murphy as the seventh-best mayor of a large American city between 1820 and 1993. The survey’s author, Melvin G. Holli, described Murphy as an excellent mayor and a strong leader.

In 1933, after completing his second term as mayor, Murphy was appointed by President Roosevelt as Governor-General of the Philippine Islands.

In May 1935, more than 6,000 poor and uneducated farmers in the Philippines attacked government buildings in Manila because of economic problems. Government forces responded with gunfire, killing 100 people. During Murphy’s time as governor, many landowners used private groups to stop protests by farmers. Murphy cared about the struggles of poor farmers and wanted better treatment for them. He suggested changes to land laws but proposed them late in his time as governor.

Murphy’s government also raised taxes on goods from Japan in 1934. Japan’s Consul General warned Manila that this could lead to problems. He also urged the Philippines not to believe reports from China.

In his final months as governor, Murphy asked for the release of peasant rebels who were being treated harshly in jail because he cared about poor workers.

When Murphy’s position as governor was ended in 1935, he continued to work as the United States High Commissioner to the Philippines until 1936. That year, he attended the Democratic National Convention as a delegate from the Philippines.

The title “High Commissioner to the Philippines” was used for the U.S. representative to the Philippines from 1935 to 1946. This role was created by the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934, which planned for the Philippines to become independent in 1946.

In 1936, Murphy was elected as the 35th governor of Michigan, defeating the Republican governor, Frank Fitzgerald. He served for two years. During his time in office, Michigan started a program to help people who were unemployed and improved mental health services.

In 1937, workers at a General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, staged a sit-down strike. This event became a major moment in labor history. After a fight between workers and police left 27 people injured, Murphy sent the National Guard to protect the workers. He ignored a court order to remove the workers and refused to stop the strike. Murphy helped negotiate an agreement that ended the conflict. General Motors then recognized the United Automobile Workers as a group that could negotiate on behalf of workers. This recognition helped labor unions grow quickly. The British Broadcasting Corporation later called this strike “the strike heard round the world.”

In 1938, Murphy lost his governor’s race to Fitzgerald, who had previously been governor. Fitzgerald became the only governor of Michigan to serve before and after the same person.

In 1939, President Roosevelt appointed Murphy as the 56th attorney general of the United States. He created a unit in the Justice Department to protect civil rights and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

One year later, on January 4, 1940, Roosevelt nominated Murphy to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing a judge who had died. The Senate confirmed Murphy’s appointment on January 16, and he was sworn in on February 5, 1940. Murphy’s time on the court began during a period when the court was led by Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone. After Stone died, Murphy served under Chief Justice Frederick Moore Vinson. During World War II, Murphy served in the Army Reserve for three months in 1942 while the court was not in session. He worked as the executive officer to General George C. Marshall, the head of the U.S. Army. Murphy retired from the Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Death and memory

Frank Murphy passed away in his sleep at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit on July 19, 1949, due to a heart attack at the age of 59. More than 10,000 people attended his funeral in Detroit. He is buried in Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic Cemetery in Sand Beach Township, Michigan, near Harbor Beach.

The Frank Murphy Hall of Justice was the location of Detroit's Recorder's Court and now serves as part of Michigan's Third Judicial Circuit Court. A plaque on the first floor honors Murphy and is recognized as a key event in Michigan's legal history.

Outside the Hall of Justice stands a statue titled "The Hand of God" by Carl Milles. This artwork was created in honor of Murphy and funded by the United Automobile Workers. It shows a figure emerging from the left hand of God. Although the statue was commissioned in 1949 and completed by 1953, it was stored for more than 15 years because of its depiction of a nude figure. Walter P. Reuther and Ira W. Jayne chose the statue to honor Murphy. It was placed on a pedestal in 1970 with the help of sculptor Marshall Fredericks, who studied under Milles.

Murphy is also honored in his hometown of Harbor Beach, Michigan, with a museum located at his former home. The museum displays many personal items from his life and career, especially those from his time in the Philippines. The Murphy Museum is open during the summer months by appointment.

Murphy's personal and official records are stored at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and are available for research. This includes an oral history project about Murphy. His letters and other documents are also kept in libraries across the country.

To honor Murphy, who was one of three University of Michigan Law School alumni to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice, John H. Pickering, a lawyer who once worked for Murphy, donated money to the law school. This donation established the Frank Murphy Seminar Room in his memory.

Murphy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree by the University of Michigan in 1939.

The University of Detroit has a Frank Murphy Honor Society.

The play The Sweet Trials: Malice Aforethought was written by Arthur Beer and is based on the trials of Ossian and Henry Sweet. It is inspired by Kevin Boyle's book Arc of Justice.

Frank Murphy Elementary School in Detroit Public Schools is named in his honor.

Personal life

Murphy did not marry or have children. Throughout his adult life, there were rumors about his personal life, including suggestions of a same-sex relationship. According to the book Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians v. The Supreme Court, Murphy’s biographer, historian Sidney Fine, discovered a letter in Murphy’s personal papers. The letter, if interpreted literally, describes a personal relationship between Murphy and the writer some years earlier. The writer mentioned that they became close during Murphy’s time as governor-general and expressed happiness about Murphy’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

Murphy had at least two notable female companions. Ann Parker was often seen riding horses with Murphy in Washington during his time as U.S. Attorney General, which led to public猜测 about a romantic relationship. At the time of his death, Murphy was engaged to Joan Cuddihy, and their wedding was planned for the following month.