John Luttrell Murphy (1842 – February 27, 1912) was a justice of the Territorial

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court wh ...

from 1871 to 1872, appointed by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. The appointment led to controversy, and the following year Grant withdrew the appointment, although sources are unclear as to whether Murphy was recalled or allowed to resign. Born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, Murphy served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and obtained the rank of Major. In 1867, he passed the Tennessee Bar. Murphy was appointed Associate Justice of the Montana Territorial Supreme Court by President Ulysses S. Grant on February 4, 1871. He was recalled/resigned after much controversy on October 4, 1872 and replaced by Justice Servis. Murphy then opened a law practice in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

, but soon thereafter moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Murphy served as a federal prosecutor in San Francisco, and as the City and County Attorney in the 1880s. Murphy's wife was named Viola. Murphy died in Knoxville at the age of 70.

References

1842 births 1912 deaths Lawyers from Knoxville, Tennessee Union Army officers Justices of the Montana Supreme Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant {{Montana-state-judge-stub