# William P. Murphy (judge) *American jurist; associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1955–1972* William P. Murphy (July 6, 1898 – April 22, 1986) was a [[Minnesota]] lawyer and judge. He sat as an associate justice of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] from 1955 until 1972, having been appointed in 1955 by Governor [[Orville Freeman]].[^1] Before the appointment, he was an assistant U.S. attorney and later a regional director of the Office of Price Stabilization. In 1975, after leaving the court, he was named a special agent by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[^1] The record assembled for this article is limited to that biographical summary. It does not establish any court filing, statute, agency release or case in which Murphy is named.[^1] ## Early life and education Murphy was a native of [[St. Cloud]], Minnesota, and finished his secondary schooling at Cathedral High School there.[^1] He earned his law degree at the St. Paul College of Law, an institution that preceded the William Mitchell College of Law in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]].[^1] ## Career Murphy's legal practice took him to both St. Cloud and Saint Paul. From 1922 to 1924 he was employed in the legal department of the Capitol Trust & Savings Bank in St. Paul. He then kept a private practice in St. Cloud until 1939.[^1] That year he took a post as an assistant U.S. attorney. Beginning in 1952 he was regional director of the Office of Price Stabilization.[^1] He returned to private practice in 1953, joining a St. Paul law firm. Governor Freeman named him to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1955, and he remained on the court until 1972.[^1] In 1975, three years after leaving the bench, he received an appointment as a special agent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[^1] ## Personal life Murphy died on April 22, 1986, in [[Hastings]], Minnesota.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - William P. Murphy, associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Orville Freeman.[^1] ### What - Associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1955–1972.[^1] - Assistant U.S. attorney from 1939; regional director of the Office of Price Stabilization from 1952.[^1] ### When - Born July 6, 1898; died April 22, 1986.[^1] - Appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1955; left the court in 1972.[^1] - Appointed a special agent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975.[^1] ### Where - Born in St. Cloud, Minnesota; died in Hastings, Minnesota.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *William P. Murphy (judge)* (retrieved 2026-10-26; revision 1292273185) — biographical summary: birth and death dates and places, education, career, 1955 appointment by Governor Freeman, service 1955–1972, 1975 SEC appointment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_P._Murphy_(judge)