Frank Murphy was a lawyer and politician who held a stunning array of public positions: assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (1919-1922); Detroit criminal court judge (1924-1929); mayor of Detroit (1930-1933); governor and high commissioner of the Philippines (1933-1936); governor of Michigan (1937-1939); U.S. Attorney General (1939-1940); and finally, Supreme Court justice (1940-1949) [1].
William Francis “Frank” Murphy was born in Sand Beach (later renamed Harbor Beach), Michigan, on April 13, 1890, to John and Mary Murphy. He was one of four children in a close-knit, loving family [2]. He attended Harbor Beach High School, and then attended the University of Michigan for six years, earning his law degree in 1914 [3].
It is interesting to note that Murphy was not an overly gifted high school, college, or law student, but was a very talented athlete and excelled in many sports, including baseball, boxing, and polo (he enjoyed horse-riding throughout his entire life). This athleticism, alongside a gregarious personality, cultured upbringing, and a desire to work towards social justice, “left him restless and longing for a job where he could fulfill his ambitions” [4]. This restlessness drove many of his career shifts.
In 1917 Murphy left the practice of law and joined the Army. Initially assigned to a non-combat position, he “expressed impatience at the lack of action… [and] eventually transferred to a fighting unit” [5]. However, he was disappointed when his arrival at the battlefield coincided with the end of the Great War (World War I).
Back home, Murphy became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, focusing on war profiteering cases. He was appointed a criminal court judge and arbitrator, gaining a reputation for his pro-worker decisions. During the Great Depression, Murphy became the mayor of Detroit, which suffered very high unemployment. He was generous with aid to low-income and minority groups, angering many whites, business leaders, and upper-income voters.
In 1933, Murphy left for the Philippines to serve as Governor General and then High Commissioner. Under his watch, the Philippines became a commonwealth, an important step towards full independence. Murphy returned to the states in 1937 and was elected to be Michigan’s governor. He captured the national spotlight by repeatedly siding with unions and strikers in labor disputes [6].
Murphy lost his re-election bid for governor, but was brought into FDR’s cabinet in 1939 as Attorney General. Though he served just one year, he left a lasting mark by creating the federal government’s first Civil Liberties Unit (later renamed Civil Rights Section); it was the forerunner to today’s Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice [7]. Murphy also prioritized the investigation and prosecution of “the rich and prominent who had evaded federal income taxes, lords of the underworld, and powerful political bosses of both parties” [8].
In 1940, FDR elevated Frank Murphy to the Supreme Court. Here again, Murphy’s restlessness and commitment to social justice showed. He asked FDR to send him to Detroit to negotiate a labor dispute at Ford Motor Company in 1941; he rejoined the Army during World War II (serving during the Court’s recesses); and “pestered FDR to drop him behind enemy lines in the Philippines on a secret mission” in 1944 [9].
While on the Supreme Court, Murphy authored 132 majority opinions [10] and participated in several notable cases. In Korematsu v. United States (1944) he dissented and wrote that the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the west coast was unconstitutional “and falls into the ugly abyss of racism” [11]. He wrote the majority opinion in Securities and Exchange Commission v. W. J. Howey Co. (1946), which created the “Howey Test” [12], which is still used today to determine whether certain types of investments are considered securities and thus subject to the SEC’s regulatory power [13]. In Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), Murphy joined in the unanimous decision that state enforcement of racially restrictive covenants violated the 14th Amendment [14].
Murphy was not always a model Supreme Court justice, however. With his many diversions, critics accused him of lack of focus on the Court’s work. Furthermore, “…he would have [fellow justices] complaining bitterly about his writing style, his failure to stay on point, and his inability to cite Supreme Court precedent to support his decisions” [15].
Frank Murphy died on July 19, 1949 while still serving on the Supreme Court. In tribute, popular columnist Drew Pearson wrote that “Murphy will always be known as one of our great champions of the common man” [16]. Decades later, biographer Sidney Fine concluded: “He was a New Dealer before there was a New Deal” [17].
SOURCES
(1) Sources vary on the exact dates of his tenure as assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, with some listing 1919-1920 and others 1919-1922. (2) Greg Zipes, Justice and Faith: The Frank Murphy Story, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2021, pp. 1-3. (3) “From Humble Home To Supreme Court Success Story Of Frank Murphy,” Port Huron Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan), January 4, 1940, p. 1. (4) Note 2, p. 14. (5) Note 2, p. 20. (6) Note 2, generally. (7) See our summary, “Civil Rights Section, Department of Justice (1939).” (8) Sidney Fine, Frank Murphy: The Washington Years, Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, p. 56. (9) Note 2, p. 225. Also see, “Frank Murphy,” Oyez (accessed September 4, 2023), indicating his World War II service at Fort Benning, Georgia. (10) “Murphy, Francis Williams,” in James S. Olson (ed.), Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War,” Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985, p. 342. (11) “Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States,” Cornell Law School (accessed September 4, 2023). (12) “SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., 328 U.S. 293 (1946),” Justia (accessed September 4, 2023). (13) See, e.g., “The Howey test: A set of rules that determine if an investment is a security,”Business Insider, May 31, 2022 (accessed September 4, 2023). (14) “Shelley v. Kraemer,” Oyez (accessed September 4, 2023). (15) Note 2, p. 213. (16) “Frank Murphy: Foe of City Bosses,” The Columbia Record (Columbia, South Carolina), July 23, 1949, p. 4. (17) Note 8, p. 595.
