Judge Murnaghan Quotations

On Civil Rights Law

“The heart of anti-discrimination can be summed up by the observation that while there is a difference it does not, and, but for exceptional circumstances, may not make a difference.”  Dissent in Burwell v. Eastern Air Lines, Inc., 633 F.2d 361, 378 (4th Cir. 1980).

On Judging

“The law is essentially the idea that everybody has a fair shake, the equal justice under the law concept.  It’s very easy to state; it’s almost impossible to apply sometimes because, ‘what is equal?’ is the question that you have to ask in every case.  And that’s why a system like ours, which does proceed on a case by case basis, largely works.”  Maryland Bar Journal/Fall 1979/15.              

On National Security

“History teaches us how easily the specter of national security may be used to justify a wide variety of repressive actions.”  In re Washington Post [cite].

On First Amendment Public Access

“Public access serves the important function of discouraging either the prosecutor or the court from engaging in arbitrary or wrongful conduct.  The presence of the public operates to check any temptation that might be felt by either the prosecutor or the court to obtain a guilty plea by coercion or trick, or to seek or impose an arbitrary or disproportionate sentence.”  In re Washington Post

On Legal Clarity

“The law follows (or perhaps leads) the practice of other professions in the affectionate use of recondite terms of little apparent sense, standing solely on their own. Regrettably, lawyers sometimes use legal terms possessed of technical meanings imprecisely, if not inaccurately, which leads to obfuscation and confusion. Unfortunately, the result is frequently one of frustration amounting to helplessness on the part of laymen confronted by the incomprehensible phraseology.”

On Just Criminal Sentences

“[When an individual serves] admittedly erroneous jail time, I do not believe that the state’s interest in finality outweighs even one year of a man’s life.”  U.S. v. Mikalajunas, 186 F.3d 490 (4th Cir. 1999) (dissent) 

On Police Misconduct

“Judges should unflinchingly see that fairness prevails, particularly in the conduct of police.”  Jean v. Collins, 155 F.3d 701 (4th Cir. 1998)