With accolades flowing freely from each side of the political spectrum, Michael R. Murphy was officially sworn in Monday as a judge in the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Some 500 people - including the state's top attorneys and judges - crowded into the Capitol Rotunda to honor Murphy, 47, who served as a 3rd District Court judge in Utah for 10 years.More pomp than circumstance, the ceremony quickly turned into a sort of celebrity roast as seven speakers lauded Murphy for his fairness, passion, expertise, intelligence and humanity.
"We look forward to you being one of the great judges in our circuit court of appeals system," said Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the U.S. Senate's Judiciary Committee, who was instrumental in seeing Murphy's nomination sail through Senate confirmation hearings in August.
Reciting a "Top 10" list of questions colleagues have been afraid to ask Murphy, attorney Douglas S. Foxley asked, "Will you ever have the courage to tell Senator Hatch that you've never attended BYU or served a mission?"
Retired 3rd District Judge John Rokich recounted Murphy's penchant for passing humorous notes to other judges while court was in session, noting that it was always a struggle to keep a straight face while reading them.
Murphy's nephew, state Sen. Frank Pignanelli, D-Salt Lake City, said he is glad to be unshackled from "10 years of silence" about his kinship to Murphy.
"In this sea of Republicans, I can . . . finally say publicly that I, Frank Pignanelli, a Democrat, am related to Michael Murphy!" he said.
Pignanelli told several "family secrets" about his uncle, including the one about how his uncle's first brush with the law was not in a textbook but when his car rolled backward out of control and smashed into a police car.
Perhaps the most telling vignette about Murphy came from a former colleague, attorney David B. Lee, who described how the Senate confirmation hearings are usually a time that nominees are "grilled" about their views and experience.
But by the time the Judiciary Committee had finished with Murphy, "he hadn't been grilled - he had been sauteed," Lee said.
The other two speakers were Utah Attorney General Jan Graham and attorney Daniel S. Berman, who was Hatch's first choice for the vacancy but later withdrew for personal reasons.
Murphy, 47, who already has begun the transition into his new post on the 12-judge appellate court, in Denver, took the oath of office from the court's chief judge, Stephanie K. Seymour.
Afterward, he attempted to deflect the laudatory remarks, saying that the ceremony means more to him than personal praise.
"Let me assure you this is not a celebration of me. It's a celebration of the continuity of the court . . . and it is a celebration of Utah," which now can boast having contributed four appointments to the U.S. appellate court.
Saying he is far from being a "self-made man," Murphy heaped praise on his colleagues, friends and family, particularly his wife, Maureen "Mickey" Donnelly Murphy.
Murphy replaces Utahn Monroe McKay, who is on part-time "senior" status on the court.