Also, he was the judge who heard the first part of the legal battle that occurred when Omaha annexed the town of Millard in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Murphy served as a private first class in the US Army during World War II, receiving in July 1945 a bronze star for meritorious service from February 20, 1945, to April 26, 1945, in France and Germany.
[6] In 1961, President Kennedy mobilized the national guard in reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis and its tensions with the USSR and Cuba.
He participated in politics during that time, serving as treasurer for Democratic candidate Joseph V. Bensch in his unsuccessful senate campaign in 1954.
[13] In 1956 two municipal judges retired and Murphy was endorsed by the Citizens Committee for Law Enforcement as well as by the Omaha World Herald,[14] and he ran fifth in the election in which the top five were placed on the bench.
[15] As municipal court judge, Murphy's most high-profile case was one against Horace C. Buckingham who pleaded no contest for accusations that he had obtained money under false pretenses, having been paid for asphaltic oil that was never delivered.
[20] Soon after his election he was temporarily replaced on the district bench by Edward A. Mullery while he served in Colorado in the National Guard from October 1, 1961, to August 6, 1962.
One prominent example was in the case of the slaying of 86-year-old Anna Dunning by William Henry Kauffman and Walter Edward Frans, who together plead guilty and received instead sentences of life in prison.
[23] In 1967, Omaha began its attempt to annex Millard, which quickly escalated to a legal battle, which Murphy oversaw in the district courts.
[28] The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned Murphy's dismissal of the case against Buttner, who then pleaded no contest to a charge of malfeasance in public office, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to a fine of $200.
[31] In 1978 Murphy announced plans to step down from the district court in favor of a position as an administrative law judge for the Social Security Division of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.