Judge Diana E. Murphy: Memories from the District Court
May 19, 2009
© 2009 Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. All rights reserved. Originally published in the Vol. 2, Issue 4 edition of Bar Talk. Reprinted with permission.
Here's the inside scoop on Judge Diana E. Murphy. She was a Fulbright Scholar, speaks German, and has a passion for German history. She regularly has cases of Tab® delivered to her Chambers in the dead of night. She is a matchmaker. Among other things, she performed the marriage ceremony of Judge Jonathan Lebedoff, and she introduced the authors (co-clerks in 2003-04), who are now married. Her favorite movie? Kill Bill I.
Judge Murphy was appointed to the district court in 1980 (serving as the chief judge from 1992-94) and to the Eighth Circuit in 1994. She is the first woman to serve on each of those courts. Before she took the federal bench, Judge Murphy was a state court judge. She earned that position just two years after graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1974. How did she pull that off? She has judicial superpowers. In addition, "she is the hardest working person that I've ever known," Judge Lebedoff declares. Judge Lebedoff, who served as her magistrate judge on the district court, recalls that Judge Murphy was always instantly on top of every case. "She would not need a reminder, and she knew every detail and every nuance of the case," Judge Lebedoff said. Judge Murphy would come to the right decision- "and quickly."
Judge Murphy recalls particular cases as highlights from her tenure on the district court. After a threeweek trial, Judge Murphy upheld hunting and fishing rights granted to the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa by an 1837 treaty. Judge Murphy reasoned that treaties are to be interpreted in accordance with the understanding of the individuals who signed those treaties. Her reasoning was substantially adopted by the Supreme Court. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. Minnesota, 861 F. Supp. 784 (D. Minn. 1989), aff'd 124 F.3d 904 (8th Cir. 1997), aff'd 526 U.S. 172 (1999).
Another key case Judge Murphy decided was United States Jaycees v. McClure, 534 F. Supp. 766 (D. Minn. 1982). There, Judge Murphy ruled that the Minnesota public accommodations law required that the Jaycees accept women as members, rejecting the organization's claim that its "men-only" rule was protected by the First Amendment. The Eighth Circuit reversed, 709 F.2d 1560 (8th Cir. 1983), but the Supreme Court reinstated Judge Murphy's original ruling, 468 U.S. 609 (1984).
Judge Murphy's time on the district court continues to inform her philosophy as an appellate judge. She knows that to understand a case and to reach a just decision on appeal, there is no substitute for a fair study of the district court record. Even so, the record on review may not convey everything that a district court judge observes of a defendant at a sentencing hearing. It might obscure the full context of the difficult evidentiary calls made in the heat of trial. Judge Murphy understands first-hand the importance of respecting discretionary decisions made by district court judges and the need to provide clear guidance to district courts. In addition to her work as a judge (and matchmaker), Judge Murphy has served in a distinguished capacity on the boards of the Bush Foundation (1982-2007), Minneapolis United Way (1986-2001), University of Minnesota Foundation (1990-present), Minnesota Opera (1998-2003, 2005-present), and the University of St. Thomas School of Law (2001-present). She also served as chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 1999-2004-a position Judge Lebedoff describes as a second, fulltime, non-paying job, which she balanced while serving as an active appellate judge.
"I have never known anyone to make fuller use of her time," says Judge Lebedoff. Maybe it's all that Tab®.
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