Worcester criminal defense attorney Brian Murphy has been nominated to replace Judge Patti Saris on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Background
Born in 1979 in Columbia, Maryland, Murphy received a B.A. from The College of Holy Cross in 2002, and then obtained a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2006. Murphy then spent three years as a public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services and then joined Todd and Weld LLP in Boston.
Murphy joined Murphy & Rudolph LLP in 2011 and currently works as a Partner there.
History of the Seat
Murphy has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, replacing Judge Patti Saris, who will take senior status upon the confirmation of a successor.
Legal Career
Murphy started his legal career as a public defender before shifting to the Boston firm Todd & Weld. While at the firm, Murphy represented defendants charged in a 67 count tax conspiracy. See United States v. Pingaro, 784 F. Supp. 2d 77 (D. Mass. 2011).
Murphy has spent the largest portion of his legal career at Murphy & Rudolph, representing criminal defendants in Worcester, Massachusetts. For example, Murphy petitioned the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to order that a transcript of grand jury instructions be produced for his client’s indictments. Robin v. Commonwealth, 480 Mass. 1025 (2018). In other cases, Murphy has represented defendants charged with selling cocaine, fentanyl and heroin in the Worcester area. See United States v. Cruz, 365 F. Supp. 3d 222 (D. Mass. 2019); United States v. Robles, 464 F. Supp. 3d 422 (D. Mass. 2020).
On the civil side, Murphy represented the Blackstone Headwaters Coalition in a suit alleging that the defendants were violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. See Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc. et al., 410 F. Supp. 3d 299 (D. Mass. 2019). The suit was ultimately dismissed via summary judgment. See id.
Overall Assessment
Democrats are facing an increasingly tightening window for judicial confirmations before the end of the year. However, there is little in Murphy’s background that should cause him too much trouble in the confirmation process.
The Vetting Room 
I found something about Sarah Netburn, the Magistrate Judge Biden nominated for Southern New York. She’s currently overseeing the case of Ripple v. SEC, a major crypto-currency case. This is a case which isn’t getting much publicity, but could have influence over the currency in general. She’ll no doubt get questioned about the it. Here’s an article:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/sec-wins-partial-victory-in-legal-battle-with-ripple-over-xrp/ar-BB1hOX82
LikeLiked by 1 person
QFRs are up from the last nomination hearing. Safe to say Kevin Ritz will be an 11-10 vote.
From some reason can’t post the link but it’s on the SJC website.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really hope the WH goes hard on the remaining 6th vacancy. If Blackburn refuses to negotiate in good faith, then they should nominate a Nashville progressive in their 40’s if not 30’s. If she & Haggerty are willing to actually show good faith, then a reasonable nominee in the mold of Kevin Ritz should be negotiated alongside a nominee for the WDTN.
Using that standard in Florida & North Carolina, we could get 7 red state district court nominees. That would be enough to fill a SJC hearing & some.
LikeLike
We have a handful of easy to confirm judicial nominees and several nominees expected to be party line who it’s imperative get confirmed… I’m hoping I’m right and Schumer will slide quietly in party line nominees at the right time like he has done in the last few years…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, we’re down to two weeks till jury selection starts in the Menendez trial. I hope they take advantage of his presence. They’ve got a minimum of 8 circuit and 34 district judges to confirm by the end of the year. Back in 2022, they managed 13 circuit and 24 district confirmations over the same timeframe. Those are roughly equivalent workloads; hopefully some extra nominees from FL and NC get blue slips and don’t add much to that workload. In 2022, they broke it down with 6 in May, 3 in June, 5 in July, 2 in August, 8 in September, 0 on October, 3 in November, and 10 in December. I’m hoping they can at least match that May total, including a few of the party-liners. It won’t matter if June falls flat, but I’m hoping they at least save the SD nominees till Menendez is no longer available.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m hoping the Menendez trial doesn’t get dragged out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The government’s got a ridiculous number of potential exhibits lined up, and if Menendez thinks his ‘blame it on the wife’ defense is convincing, I doubt he’d accept more than a slap on the wrist in a plea. So I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t get dragged out.
LikeLiked by 1 person