Judge of the Day: Ernest B. Murphy
Back in 2007, Judge Ernest B. Murphy won his libel case case against the Boston Herald. The Herald had reported that Murphy was soft on crime and, well, nobody puts Baby in the corner.
But winning just wasn’t enough for Judge Murphy. After he won he sent two threatening letters to Patrick Purcell, publisher of the Herald, on court stationery. The letters, which included the use of all-caps as pioneered by Chief Justice John Marshall, demanded that the Herald drop its appeal and hand deliver a check for half a million dollars more than the judgment, plus interest.
According to the Boston Globe, “Purcell testified that the letters were intimidating and looked like ransom notes.”
Yesterday, Murphy agreed to resign. Murphy claimed to have post-traumatic stress from his battle with the Herald. The Commission on Judicial Conduct had recommended a $25,000 fine, but they may amend their report in light of Murphy’s resignation.
We’d make a joke about how a judge could incur psychologically destructive stress from participating in a lawsuit, but we’re terrified that Murphy will sue us under the ADA.
Judge who sued Herald agrees to leave bench [Boston Globe via WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: Murphy v. Boston Herald: Some Beantown Benchslappery
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Comments
pretty good
nobody puts baby in A corner. ugh.
nice
You forgot to mention "State Court judges are clowns".
FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US.
I'm moving to Del Boca Vista!
this judge was a dick.
Wow, Sophist is coming out strong today. Good job!
"the use of all-caps as pioneered by Chief Justice John Marshall" -- nice touch Elie.
Looks like he's getting some good tips from Kash and Lat. Either that or his style has quickly come into line with good ATL posts. Kudos to Elie for working to make a smooth, quality transition into his new post.
Steven Segal needs to pay this Judge a visit just to show him he is not "above the law." C'mon, rip his head off!!!
9, I think a lot of it has to do with getting fresh, interesting material instead of the "canned and homogenized for ATL idol" stuff of weeks past.
he should marry judge halverston. Sounds like a Simpson-esque Kent Brockman headling:
"Pig marries village idiot. film at 11."
PSTD my ass.
PS to #10: Now that Segal's "muscle" is in the joint, and Segal remains the subject of an FBI investigation, that opition appears unlikely.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-me-seagal17aug17,1,554518.story
#4:
That is covered and in any event implicit:
"Posted in: Defamation, Judge of the Day, Lunacy, Media and Journalism, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns".
Federal Judges are no better. Looks like this judge could dish it out, but couldn't take it......glad he's out.
Awesome job Elie! You keep impressing me more and more.
Wow, that ATL idol contest was such a joke - it didn't showcase half of your potential.
Anyway, keep this up.
Agree with #9. No longer worried about the new ATL. Good job Lat/Sophist.
Not bad... the Marshall joke was so-so, and it should have been "a corner," but a solid B+. Moving in the right direction.
Good post! Switched to the royal we, have we?
At risk of commenting on the actual case, First Amendment geeks will be interested in knowing that this is a rare case in which a public figure plaintiff actually proved "actual malice." I followed the case with some degree of closeness, and tend to believe that the judge actually made the comments the Herald reported, though the Herald's reporter hung himself with some evasive and dishonest testimony about the means he used to corroborate his story. (He said he took a bunch of steps he didn't actually take). At any rate, the judge's "ransom notes" looked just like that - they were these insane handwritten screeds that basically demanded briefcases full of cash.
I think the decision also mentions the Herald reporter going on the "O'Reilly Factor" and making nasty comments about the judge, which may have contributed to the 'actual malice' finding. Can't remember that detail for sure though.
13:
Segal is not in the joint. He may have been the subject of investigation a year ago, but he's not in jail. Do you know anything to the contrary?
Even if he were in jail, I'm sure he can "bust out" and go get this douchebag judge!
7 and 16 and 17 (aka elie's friends and relatives), you can put the pom-poms down. he's got the gig. it's enough with the cloying elie-is-great routine. you can vomit from all that. (for the record, his posts so far have been no-talent rip-offs of stuff posted earlier by kash and the wsj blog.)
I clerked for this guy and he was immensely entertaining. He continuously displayed bad judgment, inappropriate conduct (as evidenced by the ransom note), and was notoriously late in issuing opinions.
I can't get into details about what I witnessed (for obvious reasons), but I can share a few details that were common to many clerks. He chain-smoked in chambers (in violation of MA law), made inappropriate comments on and off the bench, and would often "find" case files sitting around his office that he had let "slip through the cracks" (in many cases the parties were waiting for a decision on a dispositive motion).
Despite his failings as a judge, he was a great guy. Funny, generous with the court staff, accommodating to his employees, etc. He was just a lousy judge.
I'm sure I'll hear from elitists who look down their noses at state court clerks, but it was a fun year. I watched some interesting murder trials, was under no pressure to bill hours, and was able to “see behind the curtain” and realize how big a role clerks play in the judicial process. Despite learning nothing about “biglaw” litigation during the clerkship, I managed to land a “biglaw” job, received credit for the year, and landed a 35K bonus.
So all you TTT law school students, there is hope for you. Just make sure you graduate at or near the top of your class.
why did post #24 started talking about the judge of the day, then started to talk about his TTT job and TTT education and finally urged all teh TTT law school students to rise up in revolt?
why did post #24 started talking about the judge of the day, then started to talk about his TTT job and TTT education and finally urged all the TTT law school students to rise up in revolt?
why did post #24 start by posting a comment once, and then finally post the same comment again?
why did post #25 start by posting a comment once, and then finally post the same comment again?
great post. i liked it better than Cash and Lat articles.