Thomas Francis Murphy (December 3, 1905 – October 26, 1995) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

Early life and education

Born on December 3, 1905, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Murphy's grandfather was a police officer and his father chief clerk of the city's Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. Murphy attended Regis High School and then received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1927 from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1930 from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test t ...

. He entered private practice of law until 1942.

Career

From 1942 to 1950, Murphy served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the Southern District of New York. He became head of the criminal division in 1944 and from 1949 to 1950 served as prosecutor in the two perjury trials of

Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...

, winning a conviction in the second after the first ended in a hung jury. Murphy served briefly as

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...

from September 1950 to June 1951. At the time of his appointment, the ''New York Times'' described him as "a reader of Proust as a change from law books" and said that members of all political parties greeted his appointment with such unanimity as to suggest that he was "certain of continued tenure if he does the job expected of him". After he resigned to become a federal judge, New York City Mayor

Vincent Impellitteri Vincent Richard Impellitteri (born Vincenzo Impellitteri; February 4, 1900 – January 29, 1987) was an American politician and judge who served as the 101st Mayor of New York City, 1950–53. He was elected as a Democrat as president of the Cit ...

said Murphy had laid the groundwork for ridding the department of corruption: "He had restored the self respect of police officers who had suffered through the greed of their corrupt comrades."

Federal judicial service

Murphy was nominated by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

on June 11, 1951, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Harold Medina Harold Raymond Medina (February 16, 1888 – March 14, 1990) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 29, 1951, and received his commission on July 2, 1951. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on December 3, 1970. His service terminated on October 26, 1995, due to his death.

Notable cases

Murphy presided at a jury trial that determined that the Swedish sex film ''

I Am Curious (Yellow) ''I Am Curious (Yellow)'' (, meaning "I Am Curious: A Film in Yellow") is a 1967 Swedish erotic drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman, starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's ''I Am Curious (Blue)''; the t ...

'' was obscene. He called it "repulsive and revolting" and ordered it confiscated, but was later overruled by the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

. Murphy also presided at the 1958 wiretapping trial of James R. Hoffa, the president of the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

. Murphy moved to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in 1968. Serving by designation on the

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...

, he presided at the trial of Vladimir Samarin, a former

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

instructor, who was accused of lying about his activities as a Nazi propagandist during World War II both when immigrated and when seeking United States citizenship.

Personal and death

Murphy was described at the time as "a lifelong

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

". His younger brother,

Johnny Murphy John Joseph Murphy (July 14, 1908 – January 14, 1970) was an All-Star American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (1932, 1934–43, 1946–47) who later became a front office executive in the game. Yankees' relief ace After ...

, had a long career in professional baseball as a pitcher with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and as general manager of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Murphy died in a nursing home at the age of 88, in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, on October 26, 1995. He was survived by his wife Katherine

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Thomas Francis 1905 births 1995 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York New York City Police Commissioners Georgetown University alumni Fordham University alumni United States Department of Justice lawyers United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman 20th-century American judges Regis High School (New York City) alumni Assistant United States Attorneys