JOHN MURPHY

MURPHY John George Murphy, Jr. A beloved emeritus professor at Georgetown University Law Center, scholar, public servant, and husband and 55-year dance partner to his wife, Lucinda, passed away at his home in Washington, DC on May 26, 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 80. Professor Murphy, known as Jack, was born June 15, 1937, on Governor's Island, New York, the youngest of four children and only son of Col. John George Murphy, a career officer in the U.S. Army, and his wife, Helene née Barnes. The family moved often in his youth, and he attended 14 different schools before graduating from New York Military Academy. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree at Harvard, one of the first students from NYMA to do so, graduating in 1958. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1961. After graduating from Georgetown, he clerked for Judge Warren E. Burger (later Chief Justice of the United States) on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Following a stint as an associate at the law firm of Covington & Burling, he served as conference director for the Office of Economic Opportunity's legal services program, helping to design a system to provide free legal services for the poor, which served as the foundation for the present Legal Services Corporation, an independent non-profit that is the single largest funder in the nation of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. In 1965 he joined the teaching faculty at Georgetown University Law Center, where over the course of the next 43-plus years he taught courses on constitutional, commercial, and criminal law, including the subjects of individual rights, the Supreme Court, the federal system and federal election law, professional responsibility, and corporations. Though his subject matter was frequently technical, difficult to master and arguably even dull, students consistently rated his courses as the very best in the law school. He served as associate dean for the graduate program for five years in the mid-1980s, coached moot court teams, and gave great energy to university governance, including serving as vice-president of the Georgetown University faculty senate and for decades as chairman of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility. During his long tenure at Georgetown he made time for a host of other worthy causes. He organized legal teams for demonstrators after Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968; successfully advocated (and recruited) for increased representation of minorities at the Law Center; and in the wake of the Watergate scandal, served in 1975 and '76 as the first general counsel of the newly-created Federal Election Commission, to oversee campaign finance reforms. Over the years his work as lawyer and scholar led him to live in places as diverse as Beirut, Lebanon; Olomouc, Czech Republic (in the immediate aftermath of the Soviet Union's breakup); Guadalajara, Mexico; and Xiamen, China, in one capacity or another helping local universities to build robust and rigorous law programs. Jack wed Lucinda Friendly in September 1962, the start of a marriage that lasted more than 55 years and produced four children, six grandchildren, and an abundance of marvelous friends. Together Jack and Lucinda created a remarkably lively home with open doors - hosting and nurturing a steady stream of international students, friends made during previous travels, and people from all walks of life. Jack instilled in those around him - his family, colleagues, and friends - a sense that we are all better for knowing and embracing each other. The constant refrain from those he touched is that his tolerant and gracious example, his attentive listening, and his thoughtful counsel have made them better people. A service will be held at a later date. Those who wish to honor Jack's legacy are urged to contribute to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center. A service will be held at a later date. Those who wish to honor Jack's legacy are urged to contribute to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center.