She then went on to win a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, where she met her future husband, Joseph Murphy.

She was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1980, and received commission the same day.

[2] Murphy was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge John R. Gibson.

[5] Later that year, the Minnesota Law Review hosted a memorial symposium in her honor, which included contributions from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judge Michael Joseph Melloy, and Judge Rubén Castillo.

[7][8] In 1993, she was reportedly considered for the post of Attorney General of the United States, which later went to Janet Reno.