John Murtha (Vermont)
John Garvan Murtha is a federal judge on inactive status with the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. He joined the court in 1995 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. He served as the chief judge of the district court from 1995 to 2002. Murtha went on senior status in 2009 and went on inactive status in September 2017.[1]
Early life and education
A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Murtha graduated from Yale University with his undergraduate degree in 1963, from the University of Connecticut School of Law with his LL.B in 1968, and from Georgetown University Law Center with his LL.M. in 1970.[2]
Professional career
- 1995 - Present: United States District Court for the District of Vermont
- 2009 - Present: Senior judge
- 1995-2002: Chief judge
- 1995-2009: Judge
- 1973-1995: Private practice, Brattleboro, Vt.
- 1970-1973: Deputy state's attorney, Windham County, Vt.
- 1968-1970: E. Barrett Prettyman Fellow, Georgetown University Law Center[2]
Judicial career
District of Vermont
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: John Garvan Murtha |
| Court: United States District Court for the District of Vermont |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 51 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: April 4, 1995
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| ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
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| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: May 4, 1994
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| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: May 18, 1995
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| Confirmed: May 25, 1995
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| Vote: Voice vote
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Murtha was nominated by President Bill Clinton on April 4, 1995, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Franklin Billings. The American Bar Association rated Murtha Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Murtha's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 4, 1995, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on May 18, 1995. Murtha was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on May 25, 1995, and he received his commission the next day. From 1995 to 2002, Murtha served as the chief judge of the district court. He elected to take senior status beginning on June 30, 2009. He was succeeded in this position by Judge Christina Reiss.[2][3][4]
Noteworthy cases
Vt. Prison Labor Case (2012)
On August 3, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit overturned a lower court decision and held that a suit could continue which alleged that the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, Vermont violated the 13th Amendment by requiring an individual to work in the laundry room for $0.25 an hour. The suit was filed by Finbar McGarry who alleged that during his time pending trial in the facility, he was forced to work 14 hour shifts, 3 days a week, and was punished with solitary confinement if he refused. He filed the suit a month before his release, requesting $11 million in damages. U.S. District Judge John Murtha threw out the case claiming that McGarry did not prove that the forced work was akin to African American slavery, which the amendment was enacted to prohibit. The three-judge appellate panel composed of Robert Katzmann, Richard Wesley, and Barrington Parker disagreed, writing in their opinion, "The Amendment was intended to prohibit all forms of involuntary labor, not solely to abolish chattel slavery." In addition, the panel held that McGarry's pretrial status required that the state treat him differently as he was not yet convicted and the charges were later dropped.[5]
See also
- United States District Court for the District of Vermont
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Brattleboro Reformer, "Judge Murtha to step down: Federal courthouse in Brattleboro to close," September 6, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge John Garvan Murtha," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 305 — John Garvan Murtha — The Judiciary," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 104th Congress." accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Reuters, "Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case," August 3, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Franklin Billings |
District of Vermont 1995–2009 |
Succeeded by: Christina Reiss
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| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |
Adams • Ambrose • Barnes • Brinkema • Bucklew • Chasanow • Coffman • Daughtrey • Ferguson • Ginsburg • Hagen • Jackson • Lancaster • Leval • Lindsay • Messitte • Michael • Piersol • Saris • Schwartz • Seybert • Shanahan • Shaw • Stearns • Trager • Vazquez • Wilken • Wilson | ||
| 1994 |
Baer • Barkett • Batts • Beaty • Benavides • Bennett • Berrigan • Biery • Block • Borman • Breyer • Briones • Bryson • Bucklo • Burgess • Burrage • Cabranes • Calabresi • Carr • Casellas • Castillo • Chatigny • Chin • Cindrich • Coar • Collins • Cooper • Cote • Currie • Davis • Dominguez • Downes • Duval • Friedman • Furgeson • Garcia • Gertner • Gettleman • Gillmor • Gilmore • Gleeson • Haggerty • Hamilton • Hannah • Hawkins • Henry • Holmes • Hood • Hull • Hurley • Jack • Jones • Jones • Kaplan • Katz • Kern • Kessler • Koeltl • Lisi • Manning • McKee • McLaughlin • Melancon • Miles-LaGrange • Moore • Motz • Murphy • O'Malley • O'Meara • Oliver • Paez • B. Parker • F. Parker • R. Parker • Perry • Ponsor • Pooler • Porteous • Rendell • Riley • Robertson • Rogers • Ross • Russell • Sands • Sarokin • Scheindlin • Silver • Squatrito • Stewart • Sullivan • Tatel • Thompson • Timlin • Urbina • Vanaskie • Vance • Walls • Wells • Williams | ||
| 1995 |
Arterton • Atlas • Black • Blake • Briscoe • Tena Campbell • Todd Campbell • Chesney • Cole • Collier • Daniel • Davis • Dennis • Dlott • Donald • Duffy • Economus • Evans • Fallon • Folsom • Gaughan • Goodwin • Heartfield • Hunt • Illston • Jones • King • Kornmann • Lawson • Lenard • Lucero • Lynch • McKinley • Moody • Moore • Moskowitz • Murphy • Murtha • Nugent • O'Toole • Orlofsky • Pogue • Sessions • C. Smith • O. Smith • Stein • Thornburg • Tunheim • Wallach • Wardlaw • Webber • Whaley • Winmill • Wood | ||
| 1996 |
Broadwater • Clevert • Fenner • Gershon • Gottschall • Greenaway • Hinkle • Jones • Kahn • Laughrey • Lemmon • Marten • Miller • Molloy • Montgomery • Pregerson • Rakoff • Sargus • Tashima • Thomas • Zapata | ||
| 1997 |
Adelman • Bataillon • Breyer • Caputo • Casey • Chambers • Clay • Damrell • Droney • Friedman • Gajarsa • Garland • Gilman • Gold • Gwin • Hall • Hayden • Hull • Ishii • Jenkins • Kauffman • Kennedy • Kimball • Kollar-Kotelly • Lazzara • Marbley • Marcus • Middlebrooks • Miller • Moon • Pratt • Rendell • Sippel • Siragusa • Snyder • Thrash | ||
| 1998 |
Aiken • Barbier • Barzilay • Berman • Buttram • Carter • Collins • Dawson • Dimitrouleas • Fletcher • Fogel • Frank • Graber • Hellerstein • Herndon • James • Johnson • Kane • Kelly • G. King • R. King • Lasnik • Lee • Lemelle • Lindsay • Lipez • Manella • Matz • McCuskey • McKeown • McMahon • Mickle • Mollway • Mordue • Moreno • Morrow • Munley • Murphy • Pallmeyer • Pauley • Polster • Pooler • Rawlinson • Ridgway • R. Roberts • V. Roberts • Sack • Scott • Seitz • Seymour • Shea • Silverman • Sleet • Sotomayor • Steeh • Story • Straub • Tagle • Tarnow • Trauger • Traxler • Tyson • Wardlaw • Whelan • Young | ||
| 1999 |
Alsup • Barry • Brown • Buchwald • Cooper • Eaton • Ellison • Feess • Fisher • Gould • Guzman • Haynes • Hibbler • Hochberg • Hurd • Huvelle • Jordan • Katzmann • Kennelly • Linn • Lorenz • Lynn • Marrero • Murguia • Pannell • Pechman • Pepper • Phillips • Schreier • Stewart • Underhill • Ward • Williams • Wilson | ||
| 2000 |
Ambro • Antoon • Battani • Berzon • Bolton • Brady • Bye • Cavanaugh • Daniels • Darrah • Dawson • Dyk • Fuentes • Garaufis • Garcia-Gregory • Hamilton • Huck • Hunt • Lawson • Lefkow • Lynch • Martin • McLaughlin • Moody • Murguia • Paez • Pisano • Presnell • Rawlinson • Reagan • Schiller • Singal • Steele • Surrick • Swain • Tallman • Teilborg • Tucker • Whittemore | ||
Federal courts:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Vermont • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Vermont
State courts:
Vermont Supreme Court • Vermont Superior Courts • Vermont Probate Court • Vermont Judicial Bureau
State resources:
Courts in Vermont • Vermont judicial elections • Judicial selection in Vermont
