John William Murphy
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1946 and confirmed by voice vote, John William Murphy was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School) in 1929. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1902–1962
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1946
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Pennsylvania 1926 · University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School) 1929
- Succeeded
- Albert Williams Johnson
- Succeeded by
- William Joseph Nealon Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Middle District of Pennsylvania succeeded Albert Williams Johnson | Truman (D) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Pennsylvania | B.S. | 1926 |
| University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School) | LL.B. | 1929 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Murphy authored 53 published opinions for the court (1947–1961). Most cited: United States v. Gilboy (47 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | United States v. Gilboy | 162 F. Supp. 384 | 47 |
| 1958 | United States v. Gilboy | 160 F. Supp. 442 | 37 |
| 1951 | United States v. Stoehr | 100 F. Supp. 143 | 32 |
| 1956 | United States v. Anthony | 145 F. Supp. 323 | 29 |
| 1949 | Di Sabatino v. Mertz | 82 F. Supp. 248 | 24 |
| 1959 | Brown v. Woodring | 174 F. Supp. 640 | 22 |
| 1948 | Cheffey v. Pennsylvania R. Co. | 79 F. Supp. 252 | 21 |
| 1959 | Aetna Life Insurance Company v. Messier | 173 F. Supp. 90 | 20 |
| 1956 | Wagner v. New York, Ontario and Western Railway | 146 F. Supp. 926 | 20 |
| 1950 | Solomon v. Neisner Bros. | 93 F. Supp. 310 | 20 |
| 1957 | Federal Trade Commission v. Scientific Living, Inc. | 150 F. Supp. 495 | 18 |
| 1947 | Suders v. Campbell | 73 F. Supp. 112 | 18 |
| 1947 | United States v. Martinez | 73 F. Supp. 403 | 17 |
| 1958 | United States v. Raff | 161 F. Supp. 276 | 16 |
| 1951 | St. Louis Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Witney | 96 F. Supp. 555 | 16 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 53 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed John William Murphy?
- President Harry S Truman appointed John William Murphy to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 1946.
- Was John William Murphy appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John William Murphy was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John William Murphy's confirmation vote?
- John William Murphy was confirmed by voice vote on May 21, 1946. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was John William Murphy on?
- John William Murphy was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Unknown (Likely qualifies for work made for hire) (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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15 years on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).