According to official court documents, "at the close of the evidence, the trial judge entered judgment in favor of Eagan and Weber pursuant to Mass.
'"[3] Judge Murphy denied ever making the alleged rape comment but after the Herald published the stories he was "bombarded with hate mail, death threats and calls for his removal from the bench."
On March 7, 2002, Wedge appeared on Fox News's The O'Reilly Factor and said Judge Murphy coddled defendants and "caused headlines for making disparaging remarks to victims."
In February 2005, the jury found that the Boston Herald and David Wedge had defamed Judge Murphy and published false information about him.
In a unanimous decision "sharply critical of the newspaper and its reporter, David Wedge,"[5] the Supreme Judicial Court said "there is an abundance of evidence that, taken cumulatively, provides clear and convincing proof that the defendants either knew that the published statements found by the jury to be libelous were untrue or that they published them in reckless disregard of the probable falsity.
The Supreme Judicial Court opinion, written by Justice John Greaney, said that "by the end of Wedge's testimony, his credibility on any material factual point at issue was in tatters.
Wedge released his own public statement in which he "vehemently" disagreed with the SJC's decision and continued to "firmly stand by" his reporting on the stories.
[11] The SJC acknowledged the error, as well as others, and corrected the record but denied the Herald's motion to reconsider, ending the case in the state's courts.
On July 10, the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct charged Judge Murphy with ethical violations including "willful misconduct" for the controversial letters he sent to Purcell.
[15] In November the CJC issued a 27-page report that found Murphy's letters to Purcell were "improper in tone and content" and recommended a public reprimand.