[Vision2020] Senior Air Force JAG Relieved of Command; Had Been Disbarred

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (December 6, 2006) Roundup Edition of the Army Times -

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Senior Air Force JAG relieved of command; had been disbarred

By Erik Holmes
Army Times Staff writer

One of the Air Force's top lawyers was relieved of command Nov. 30 after it
was discovered he was disbarred in Texas and Louisiana more than 20 years
ago and does not hold a law license, multiple sources said Wednesday.

Col. Michael D. Murphy, commander of the Air Force Legal Operations Agency,
was disbarred in Texas in 1984 and Louisiana in 1985 but apparently never
told his commanders, as required by the Air Force Instruction regulating the
status of military lawyers, or judge advocates.

"We are an integrity-based organization, and so we trust our people when
they assert that [they are qualified]," said Lt. Col. Lisa Turner, a
spokeswoman for The Judge Advocate General of the Air Force. "Prior to this
we did not have a system that called for people to prove . their status,
although we have that now in place as of this moment."

Turner said Murphy is currently on leave and will be reassigned to "duties
that do not involve the practice of law" pending the outcome of an
investigation.

Murphy did not respond to a request for an interview.

As commander of the Legal Operations Agency, Murphy oversaw an agency
responsible for the administration of the Air Force's civil litigation
program and criminal justice process.

Murphy, who joined the Air Force in November 1983, previously served as
general counsel to the White House Military Office from December 2001 to
January 2003 and from August 2003 to January 2005, and as commandant of the
Air Force Judge Advocate General School from January to June 2005.

The disbarments came to light and an investigation was launched on Nov. 29,
Turner said. Murphy was relieved of command the next day.

Murphy, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, first ran into
trouble in 1981, when he failed to file an appeal on time for a client
convicted of burglary, according to court documents.

Texas in August 1982 filed a lawsuit accusing Murphy of professional
misconduct, but in a January 1983 application to be admitted to the
Louisiana bar, he stated under oath that he had never been sued or been the
subject of a disciplinary action.

Murphy's Texas law license was suspended for seven years in August 1983
because of the original lawsuit.

Both Texas and Louisiana permanently disbarred Murphy for lying on his
Louisiana bar application; Texas did so in May 1984 and Louisiana in
September 1985.

Murphy joined the Air Force after being suspended by Texas but before being
disbarred by either state.

Related to Murphy's dismissal, Maj. Gen. Jack Rives, The Judge Advocate
General of the Air Force, sent a memo Tuesday instructing all Air Force
lawyers to certify by Dec. 31 that they are members in good standing of a
state or federal bar association.

"All lawyers are now required to show their supervising attorney visual
proof they are member of a bar in good standing," Turner said.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.

- Author Unknown
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