Joseph F. Murphy Jr. (January 9, 1944 – July 28, 2022) was an American lawyer and jurist from
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Between December 17, 2007, and September 30, 2011, he was a judge of the
Maryland Court of Appeals,
the highest court in Maryland. Prior to this appointment, Murphy served as the Chief Judge of the
Court of Special Appeals, Maryland's intermediate court of appeals. He was also an instructor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Background
Born in
Fitchburg, Massachusetts on January 9, 1944, Murphy attended
St. Bernard's High School, Fitchburg;
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, A.B., 1965; and
University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., 1969. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1969. Murphy practiced law as a staff attorney for
Legal Aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...
then as an Assistant State's Attorney, Baltimore City from 1970 to 1975, then as Deputy State's Attorney for Baltimore City from 1975 to 1976.
After leaving the office of the State's attorney, he was a named partner at the
Towson law firm of White & Murphy.
Judicial career
*Associate Judge, Baltimore County Circuit Court, 3rd Judicial Circuit, 1984–93.
*Judge, Court of Special Appeals, (at-large) July 25, 1993 – 1996
*Chief Judge, Court of Special Appeals, 1996 – December 17, 2007
*Judge, Court of Appeals, (2nd Appellate Circuit (Baltimore & Harford counties)), December 17, 2007 – September 30, 2011.
Upon his retirement from the bench, Judge Murphy joined the Baltimore-based law firm of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, where he served as litigation support, and headed the firm's Alternative Dispute Resolution practice. Judge Murphy's daughter is currently an attorney in the firm's appellate litigation division. On December 22, 2011,
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley
Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007.
O'Malley ...
announced his appointment of Robert N. ("Bob") McDonald, the Chief Counsel of Opinions and Advice for the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, to the Court of Appeals replacing Judge Murphy.
Judge Murphy died on July 27, 2022, at the age of 78 after suffering from cancer.
Awards
*2004 Man of All Seasons Award, St. Thomas More Society of Maryland
*2003 Maryland Top Leadership in Law Award, ''Daily Record''
*2003 Maryland Champion for Victims Award, Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center
References
External links
Maryland Court of Appeals official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy Jr., Joseph F.
1944 births
2022 deaths
People from Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Boston College alumni
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni
Judges of the Supreme Court of Maryland