Stephen Murphy III

Stephen Joseph Murphy III (born September 23, 1962, St. Louis, Missouri) is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and a former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2005-2008. He is also a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

On March 9, 2005, aged 42, Murphy began serving as the United States Attorney in Detroit, Michigan, pending full Senate confirmation, which occurred on June 8, 2005. He replaced presidentially appointed United States Attorney Jeffrey Collins, and served continuously in the position as a presidential appointee until he took the bench on August 18, 2008. During his term, Murphy developed innovative programs to address national security and child protection issues. He worked to build office morale and to strengthen the US Attorney's ties with federal and law enforcement, and with the community at large. He served as chair of the local US Attorney General's Anti-Terrorism Advisory Committee and of the Michigan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area ("HIDTA") group.

Murphy prosecuted a number of high profile cases in his career, including the case against Dean Turner, which was reported on the front page of the Detroit Free Press, and Nada Prouty, one of the CIA's top anti-terrorist agents. That case was covered by 60 Minutes.

On June 28, 2006, Murphy was nominated with Raymond M. Kethledge by President George W. Bush to fill two vacancies for the state of Michigan on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Murphy was to occupy a seat made vacant by the death of Susan Bieke Neilson. At the time, the Senate was controlled by the Republicans. After the Democrats regained control of the Senate in November 2006, Democratic Michigan senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow balked at confirming any more Bush nominees from their state to the Sixth Circuit.

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