Michael R. Murphy is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas...

. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 on July 25, 1995 to fill the seat vacated by Monroe G. McKay

Monroe G. McKay

Monroe G. McKay is a United States federal judge.Born in Huntsville, Utah, McKay was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . His cousin, David O. McKay, became the president and prophet of the LDS Church in 1951. Around that time, Monroe was serving as a young LDS...

 and was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on August 11, 1995. He received his commission on August 15, 1995.

Education and professional experience

He received his B.A. from Creighton University

Creighton University

Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...

 in 1969. In 1972, he earned his J.D. from the University of Wyoming

University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...

. He graduated with honors and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review

Law review

A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association...

. Afterwards, he clerked for the Hon. David T. Lewis, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit from 1972-1973. He entered private practice in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 with Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough and stayed with the firm from 1973-1985. In 1986, Gov. Norman Bangerter appointed him a judge in Third District Court of Utah. In 1990, he became the presiding judge of that court, where he remained until his appointment to the 10th circuit in 1995.