Francis ("Frank") William Murphy served as both U.S. attorney general and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. An adroit politician, Murphy served as attorney general from 1939 to 1940 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt before the president appointed him to the Court in 1940. As a justice, Murphy gave broad readings to the Fourth and First Amendments and was a firm believer in civil rights.

Murphy was born on April 13, 1890 in Harbor Beach, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1914 and then enlisted in the Army as an officer, serving overseas during World War. Following the war Murphy tried his hand at criminal law as a federal prosecutor in Detroit before becoming a state criminal courts judge in 1923. Despite being a judge, Murphy became actively involved in local Democratic Party politics during the 1920s. His hard work paid off in 1930 when he was elected...