Difference between revisions of "Frank Murphy"
(more information - i plan on expanding this article soon) |
(some more) |
||
| Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
During his tenure as attorney general, he enacted the first [[civil rights]] law in the [[Justice Department]].<ref name="oyez">{{cite web|url=http://www.oyez.org/justices/frank_murphy|work=Oyez|language=English|title=Frank Murphy}}</ref> | During his tenure as attorney general, he enacted the first [[civil rights]] law in the [[Justice Department]].<ref name="oyez">{{cite web|url=http://www.oyez.org/justices/frank_murphy|work=Oyez|language=English|title=Frank Murphy}}</ref> | ||
| + | ==Career in law== | ||
| + | ===U.S. Attorney Eastern District of Michigan=== | ||
| + | Murphy served as a United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1919-1922. He won all but one of the cases he prosecuted. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Recorder's Court Judge=== | ||
| + | From 1923 to 1940, Murphy served as a Recorder's Court Judge. He presided over the famous Sweet murder trials - Dr. Ossian Sweet, an [[African-American]], had been charged with the murder of a white man who was shot outside of his home. (Sweet was acquitted after a second trial.) Gary Maveal of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law noted that "Murphy’s fairness to the prosecution and defense was remarkable; his fairness to the defendant was unique for the times."<ref name="maveal">{{cite web|author=Gary Maveal|publisher=Michigan Bar|title=Michigan Lawyers in History--Justice Frank Murphy, Michigan’s Leading Citizen|url=http://www.michbar.org/journal/article.cfm?articleID=42&volumeID=6|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Tenure on the Supreme Court=== | ||
As a jurist, he is perhaps best known for his strong dissent in the case [[Korematsu v. United States]], which controversially held as [[Constitutional|constitutional]] the internment of Japanese-Americans during [[World War II]]. Murphy referred to the ruling as the "legalization of racism", saying, "Racial discrimination in any form and in any degree has no justifiable part whatever in our democratic way of life ... All residents of this nation are kin in some way by blood or culture to a foreign land. Yet they are primarily and necessarily a part of the new and distinct civilization of the United States. They must accordingly be treated at all times as the heirs of the American experiment and as entitled to all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/US/323/323.US.214.22.html|format=HTML|title=TOYOSABURO KOREMATSU v. UNITED STATES.|work=public.resource.org|accessdate=02-23-2011|language=English|last=Murphy|first=Frank|date=12-18-1944}}</ref> | As a jurist, he is perhaps best known for his strong dissent in the case [[Korematsu v. United States]], which controversially held as [[Constitutional|constitutional]] the internment of Japanese-Americans during [[World War II]]. Murphy referred to the ruling as the "legalization of racism", saying, "Racial discrimination in any form and in any degree has no justifiable part whatever in our democratic way of life ... All residents of this nation are kin in some way by blood or culture to a foreign land. Yet they are primarily and necessarily a part of the new and distinct civilization of the United States. They must accordingly be treated at all times as the heirs of the American experiment and as entitled to all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/US/323/323.US.214.22.html|format=HTML|title=TOYOSABURO KOREMATSU v. UNITED STATES.|work=public.resource.org|accessdate=02-23-2011|language=English|last=Murphy|first=Frank|date=12-18-1944}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 04:48, March 7, 2011
| Frank Murphy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court From: January 18, 1940 – July 19, 1949 | |||
| Nominator | Franklin Roosevelt | ||
| Predecessor | Pierce Butler | ||
| Successor | Tom Clark | ||
| 56th Attorney General of the United States From: January 2, 1939 – January 18, 1940 | |||
| President | Franklin Roosevelt | ||
| Predecessor | Homer S. Cummings | ||
| Successor | Robert H. Jackson | ||
| 35th Governor of Michigan From: January 1, 1937 – January 1, 1939 | |||
| Predecessor | Frank Fitzgerald | ||
| Successor | Frank Fitzgerald | ||
| 59 Mayor of Detroit From: September 23, 1930 – May 10, 1933 | |||
| Predecessor | Charles Bowles | ||
| Successor | Frank Couzens | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Democrat | ||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||
| Military Service | |||
| Service/branch | United States Army | ||
| Rank | Captain | ||
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II | ||
William Francis (Frank) Murphy (April 13, 1890 – July 19, 1949) was a jurist and politician. Most notably, he was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the 56th United States Attorney General , the 35th Governor of Michigan and the 59th Mayor of Detroit, Michigan. He was also the Governor-General of the Philippines and taught at the University of Detroit for five years.
During his tenure as attorney general, he enacted the first civil rights law in the Justice Department.[1]
Career in law
U.S. Attorney Eastern District of Michigan
Murphy served as a United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1919-1922. He won all but one of the cases he prosecuted.
Recorder's Court Judge
From 1923 to 1940, Murphy served as a Recorder's Court Judge. He presided over the famous Sweet murder trials - Dr. Ossian Sweet, an African-American, had been charged with the murder of a white man who was shot outside of his home. (Sweet was acquitted after a second trial.) Gary Maveal of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law noted that "Murphy’s fairness to the prosecution and defense was remarkable; his fairness to the defendant was unique for the times."[2]
Tenure on the Supreme Court
As a jurist, he is perhaps best known for his strong dissent in the case Korematsu v. United States, which controversially held as constitutional the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Murphy referred to the ruling as the "legalization of racism", saying, "Racial discrimination in any form and in any degree has no justifiable part whatever in our democratic way of life ... All residents of this nation are kin in some way by blood or culture to a foreign land. Yet they are primarily and necessarily a part of the new and distinct civilization of the United States. They must accordingly be treated at all times as the heirs of the American experiment and as entitled to all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution."[3]
| “ | “The law knows no finer hour than when it cuts through formal concepts and transitory emotions to protect unpopular citizens against discrimination and persecution.” | ” |
—Frank Murphy | ||
During Court recesses, Murphy's desire to be part of the war effort led him to serve as an infantry officer in Fort Benning, Georgia.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frank Murphy (English). Oyez.
- ↑ Gary Maveal. Michigan Lawyers in History--Justice Frank Murphy, Michigan’s Leading Citizen (English) (HTML). Michigan Bar.
- ↑ Murphy, Frank (12-18-1944). TOYOSABURO KOREMATSU v. UNITED STATES. (English) (HTML). public.resource.org. Retrieved on 02-23-2011.