John Ellsworth Murphy
John Ellsworth Murphy (October 27, 1925 Omaha, Nebraska – November 12, 1984, Omaha Nebraska) was a lawyer and judge in Omaha, Nebraska. From 1960 to 1978 he served as a judge on the district 8 court of Nebraska. The most notable cases over which he presided were the bribery cases against then Mayor James Dworak and four others and a murder case against Robert Julian Jacobs. Also, he was the judge who heard the first part of the legal battle that occurred when Omaha annexed the town of Millard in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Personal and civic life Murphy was the son of Emmett and Georgia (Adams). Murphy served as a private first class in the US Army during World War II, receiving in July 1945 a bronze star for meritorious service from February 20, 1945, to April 26, 1945, in France and Germany. Two years later, in December 1947, he became engaged to his soon to be wife, Mary Beth Hill (b. December 17, 1922, in Omaha), daughter of Lloyd Miller Hill (b. June 13, 1869, in Wisconsin) and Cecilia Sinnett (b. March 5, 1899), whom he married on September 4, 1948. After the war he attended Creighton University School of Law and received his law degree in 1950. He also served in the US Army Reserves, first as battalion executive officer of the 416 Ordnance Battalion, and later the 82nd Field Hospital, and by 1958 had attained the rank of captain. That year he was elected judge advocate of the Nebraska Reserve Officers Association. In 1961, President Kennedy mobilized the national guard in reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis and its tensions with the USSR and Cuba. Newly assigned to the 82nd, Murphy reported to Fort Carson, Colorado. John and Mary Beth had 8 children, Colleen, Mary, Michael, Daniel, Elizabeth, Sue, Therese, and Joe. Early legal career Murphy passed the bar in 1950. He served as a lawyer until 1956 when he was elected to a judgeship in the municipal courts. He participated in politics during that time, serving as treasurer for Democratic candidate Joseph V. Bensch in his unsuccessful senate campaign in 1954. He also was a member of the Omaha Youth Commission and a member of the North Omaha Kiwanis club, and served as President in 1957. His work on the bench exposed him to many cases involving alcohol abuse, and he joined the Omaha Area Council on Alcoholism, being elected vice-chairman of the group in 1960 and for some years after. Municipal court In 1956 two municipal judges retired and Murphy was endorsed by the Citizens Committee for Law Enforcement as well as by the Omaha World Herald, and he ran fifth in the election in which the top five were placed on the bench. As municipal court judge, Murphy's most high-profile case was one against Horace C. Buckingham who pleaded no contest for accusations that he had obtained money under false pretenses, having been paid for asphaltic oil that was never delivered.