(b. William Francis Murphy, Sand [now Harbor] Beach, Mich., 13 Apr. 1890; d. Detroit, Mich, 19 July 1949; interred Rock Falls Cemetery, Harbor Beach, Mich.), associate justice, 1940–1949. A leading New Deal politician and libertarian jurist, Frank Murphy came from an Irish‐Catholic, middle‐class family in a small town by Lake Huron. His father, a lawyer, and especially his mother filled him with intense idealism, ambition, and religious faith. After earning a law degree from the University of Michigan and serving as an army captain in France during World War I, he made his mark in Detroit. He was a private practitioner and assistant U.S. attorney (1921–1922), liberal judge on Recorder's Court (1924–1930), and crusading mayor (1930–1933) who pioneered public relief for the unemployed.

During the Depression he reached national prominence as a Progressive reformer and lieutenant of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was the last U.S. governor‐general and first high commissioner of the Philippine Islands (1933–1936). As governor of Michigan (1937–1938), he mediated without loss of life the great sit‐down strikes at General Motors and other factories, a pivotal turn in unionization of mass‐production industries. Defeated for reelection, he was U.S. attorney general (1939) until chosen to replace Pierce Butler in the Supreme Court's “Catholic seat.” The midwestern Democrat was confirmed easily as FDR's fifth and majority appointment, although many lawyers, judges, and Murphy himself felt he was miscast.

His record as a justice was mixed. Neither legal scholar nor craftsman, he was criticized for relying on heart over head, results over legal reasoning, clerks over hard work, and emotional solos over team play in what he called the Great Pulpit. His strengths were practical experience, moral courage, compassion, and devotion to human rights. He strongly supported the post‐1937 legal revolution by which the Roosevelt Court legitimated vast public power to regulate economic affairs and championed less material rights of individuals and politically impotent minorities. Although others led these historic shifts, Murphy wrote important majority opinions in labor law, notably Thornhill v. Alabama (1940), which included peaceful picketing as free speech. His influential Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) opinion, by contrast, excluded “fighting words” and obscenity. He spoke for the Court in internally divisive battles over deportation (Schneiderman v. United States, 1943) and portal‐to‐portal pay (Jewell Ridge v. Local No. 6167, U.M.W.A., 1945). Most memorable are his powerful dissents against “legalization of racism” in the Japanese relocation (Korematsu v. United States, 1944) and for high standards of criminal procedure in war crime trials (In re Yamashita, 1946), state cases (Adamson v. California, 1947), and searches and seizures (Wolf v. Colorado, 1949).

A complex, narcissistic bachelor, he was a priestly jurist whose support of African‐Americans, aliens, criminals, dissenters, Jehovah's Witnesses, Native Americans, women, workers, and other outsiders evoked a pun: “tempering justice with Murphy.” As he wrote in Falbo v. United States (1944), “The law knows no finer hour than when it cuts through formal concepts and transitory emotions to protect unpopular citizens against discrimination and persecution” (p. 561). Aiding the poor and promoting industrial peace in the Great Depression were major achievements; his civil liberties evangelism was often vindicated by later decisions of the Court.

Bibliography

• Sidney Fine, Frank Murphy, 3 vols. (1975–1984).
• J. Woodford Howard, Jr., Mr. Justice Murphy: A Political Biography (1968)

— J. Woodford Howard, Jr.

Frank Murphy (1890-1949), American jurist and diplomat, campaigned against municipal corruption and crime as U.S. attorney general. He was a liberal sympathizer of the Filipino independence movement when he was governor general and high commissioner of the Philippine Islands.

Frank Murphy was born in Harbor Beach, Mich., on April 13, 1890. He developed an enduring hatred against "industrial slavery" as a boy worker in a local starch factory. With his mother's teaching of racial equality and Christian love, Murphy evolved into a dynamic defender of the underprivileged. He worked his way through the University of Michigan. After receiving his law degree in 1914, he worked as a law clerk in Detroit and taught in a night school.

At the outbreak of World War I Murphy enlisted and served in France. After the war he studied law in Trinity College, Dublin, and in Lincoln's Inn, London. He was chief assistant to the U.S. attorney of Eastern Michigan District (1919-1920) and was reputed never to have lost a case. After private practice (1920-1923) he was appointed judge of Recorder's Court in Detroit (1923-1930) and handled criminal cases. He was mayor of Detroit from 1930 to 1933.

In 1932 Murphy was appointed governor general of the Philippines. He demonstrated his generous sympathy for the plight of the Filipino masses, especially for the land-hungry and oppressed tenant farmers, and emphasized the need for social justice. He was high commissioner of the islands in 1935-1936. In an interview in 1947 he expressed his belief that a revolution by the workers and peasants against the prevailing inequality in the Philippines was inevitable and bound to win.

When Murphy became governor of Michigan in 1936, he was faced with a sitdown strike by General Motors workers. The corporation obtained a court order to compel the workers to quit striking, but Murphy refused to enforce it by calling the troops; for this he was severely criticized by the establishment. Although acclaimed by liberals, he lost the support of politicians and workers and was defeated for reelection in 1938. Appointed in 1939 as U.S. attorney general, he waged a relentless crusade against crime syndicates, notably against Thomas Pendergast in Kansas City, and political racketeers. His indictment of 16 alleged Communists and fellow travelers in Detroit for having recruited volunteers for Loyalist Spain earned him the censure of liberals throughout the country.

President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Murphy associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1940 in recognition of his support of the New Deal program. As a member of the five-man liberal majority on the Court, Murphy fought all forms of racketeering and safeguarded the rights of minorities. In April he wrote the decision invalidating antipicket laws and thus won general praise for his firm stand against antistrike measures.

After 15 years of service in the Justice Department, Murphy died in Detroit on July 19, 1949. Quiet in manner, courteous, somewhat ascetic and pious, Murphy followed his motto, "Speak softly and hit hard," in his work. He expressed the ruling principle of his life thus: "I should like to belong to that small company of public servants and others who are content to do some of the homely and modest task of perfecting integrity in government and making government more efficient and orderly."

Further Reading

Harold Norris, ed., Mr. Justice Murphy and the Bill of Rights (1965), has a biography of Murphy along with some of his Supreme Court opinions. The best source for Murphy's life is Richard D. Lunt, The High Ministry of Government: The Political Career of Frank Murphy (1965). A useful biography of Murphy by J. P. Rodie is in Allison Dunham and Philip B. Kurland, eds., Mr. Justice (1956; rev. ed. 1964). The Philippine background is given in Theodore Friend, Between Two Empires: The Ordeal of the Philippines, 1929-1946 (1965).

Additional Sources

Fine, Sidney, Frank Murphy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1975-c1984.

For more information on Frank Murphy, visit Britannica.com.

• Born: Apr. 13, 1890, Harbor Beach, Mich.
• Education: University of Michigan, B.A., 1912; LLB., 1914
• Previous government service: chief assistant attorney general, Eastern District of Michigan, 1919–20; judge, Recorder's Court, Detroit, Mich., 1923–30; mayor of Detroit, 1930–33; governor general of the Philippines, 1933–35; U.S. high commissioner to the Philippines, 1935–36; governor of Michigan, 1937–39; U.S. attorney general, 1939–40
• Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt Jan. 4, 1940; replaced Pierce Butler, who died
• Supreme Court term: confirmed by the Senate Jan. 15, 1940, by a voice vote; served until July 19,1949
• Died: July 19, 1949, Detroit, Mich.

Frank Murphy was a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 campaign for the Presidency. After serving as an administrator of the U.S. territory of the Philippines and as U.S. attorney general, Murphy was appointed by President Roosevelt to the Supreme Court.

As an associate justice, Murphy was a strong defender of minority rights. His most notable opinions were written in dissent of the Court's decisions to favor federal or state government interests above the rights of individuals.

Justice Murphy's dissent in Korematsu v. United States (1944) has been regarded as an example of the best opinions to be found in the Supreme Court literature. In this wartime case, the Court upheld the right of the government to relocate and confine all persons of Japanese ancestry living on the Pacific coast of the United States. The Court's majority argued that this action was necessary to protect national security during the war against Japan. Justice Murphy disagreed and said the relocation was “utterly revolting among a free people who have embraced the principles set forth in the Constitution of the United States.”

Murphy's dissent in the Korematsu case is honored today as a courageous and correct view of the case. And the majority opinion in that case tends to be criticized, in Murphy's terms, as “legalization of racism.”

See also Korematsu v. United States

Sources

• Sidney Fine, Frank Murphy: The Washington Years (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984).
• J. Woodford Howard, Mr. Justice Murphy: A Political Biography (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1968)

1890–1949, American political figure, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1940–49), b. Harbor Beach, Mich. After serving as a U.S. attorney (1919–20) and as a judge of recorder's court (1923–30), he was elected mayor of Detroit in 1930 and was widely recognized for his relief efforts. He resigned to become governor-general (1933–35) and later (1935–36) U.S. high commissioner in the Philippine Islands. Elected governor of Michigan in 1936, his settlement of the automobile strike (1937) in Flint, Mich., made him a national figure. In Jan., 1939, Murphy, a New Deal Democrat, was appointed U.S. Attorney General and served until his appointment to the Supreme Court. For a short time in 1942 he left the bench to serve as an army officer. Justice Murphy's opinions reflected his ardent liberalism. In his dissenting opinion in Korematsu v. United States (1944), he stated that the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans was unconstitutional.

Bibliography

See study by S. Fine (1979).

As a champion of civil liberties in the World War II era, Francis ("Frank") William Murphy had an extraordinary political and legal career. An associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1940 to 1949, he previously had served in local, state, and federal government. He was appointed U.S. governor general of the Philippine Islands in 1935, elected governor of Michigan in 1936, and appointed U.S. attorney general in 1939. Murphy's support for workers, women, and members of religious and racial minority groups, as well as his broad reading of the First and Fourth Amendments, distinguished him at a time when both the federal government and the Court moved slowly in upholding civil rights.

Born in Harbor Beach, Michigan, April 13, 1890, Murphy was the son of an Irish Catholic country lawyer and a devoutly religious mother. He studied at the University of Michigan before being admitted to the state bar in 1914. He then went off to fight in France and Germany in World War I. On returning to Michigan, he acquired legal experience by working in the state attorney general's office and in private practice. He next became judge for the principal criminal court in Detroit, which in turn led to a political career. A pro-labor Democrat, Murphy was mayor of Detroit from 1930 to 1933.

In the midst of the Great Depression, Murphy supported Franklin D. Roosevelt for president in 1932. President Roosevelt rewarded him with appointment as the governor general of the Philippine Islands. Murphy enacted minimumwage laws and supported women's suffrage while helping to effect the country's transition to independence. Returning to Michigan, he campaigned and won election as governor in 1936. That year the historic sit-down strike by 135,000 automobile workers proved to be the turning point in Murphy's career. He refused to deploy state police against the unpopular strikers and as a consequence lost his reelection bid in 1938.

President Roosevelt named him to his administration. Although Murphy wanted to be secretary of war—and, indeed, would spend several years trying to find ways to join the war effort—Roosevelt had other plans. The president made him U.S. attorney general. Murphy established the first civil liberties unit in the Department of Justice and brought suit against trust companies and a powerful Democratic party boss, Thomas J. Pendergast of Kansas City. In 1939 the death of Associate Justice Pierce Butler opened the so-called Catholic seat on the Supreme Court, and Roosevelt gave it to a reluctant Murphy, who thought himself less qualified than others.

Murphy served for nine years as an associate justice. He wrote 199 opinions. Inherently suspicious of government power and passionately devoted to the rights of the weak, Murphy supported civil rights in nearly every case. He scorned the federal government's treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II, for example, and at other times sided with the claims of workers and religious minority groups.

This philosophy found its best expression in 1944. "The law knows no finer hour," Murphy wrote in one of his many dissents, "than when it cuts through formal concepts and transitory emotions to protect unpopular citizens against discrimination and persecution" (Falbo v. United States, 320 U.S. 549, 64 S. Ct. 346, 88 L. Ed. 305). That case was one of several in the 1940s involving church-state issues that concerned the rights of the Jehovah's Witnesses, in this case a conscientious objector. Murphy often voted in favor of upholding First Amendment claims; for example, he joined the majority in ending compulsory flag-saluting for children in public schools (West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 63 S. Ct. 1178, 87 L. Ed. 1628 [1943]). In another important speech case, Murphy wrote the majority opinion protecting labor union picketing (Thornhill v. Alabama, 310 U.S. 88, 60 S. Ct. 736, 84 L. Ed. 1093 [1940]). Yet more often than not, his broader reading of individual rights led him into dissent against the majority.

On and off the Court, Murphy faced criticism for his idealism. He was seen as too emotional at the expense of strict legal thinking. He was the target of the popular barb, "justice tempered with Murphy." His personal life only fed his somewhat prim reputation, because he was a hypochondriac who never drank, smoked, or married. Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone disliked him for another reason: he thought Murphy was too reliant on his law clerks.

Although Murphy occasionally seemed out of step with both the Court and his times, his broad vision of civil liberties was later vindicated. In particular, he believed in vigorous application of the FourthAmendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures by the police. Murphy dissented in Wolf v. Colorado, 338 U.S. 25, 69 S. Ct. 1359, 93 L. Ed. 1782 (1949), where the Court refused to apply to the states what already existed for federal courts: the ban on admitting improperly seized evidence in a trial. He wrote that the majority, by leaving state courts out of the equation, was allowing "lawlessness by officers of the law." Twelve years later, in 1961, a different Supreme Court agreed with him and overruled Wolf in the landmark case Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S. Ct. 1684, 6 L. Ed. 2d 1081 (1961).

Murphy died on July 19, 1949 in Detroit, Michigan.

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