Friday, September 16, 2005

U.S. attorney faces a lot of challenges

Murphy is formally sworn in; Michigan politicians praise top law enforcement officer.

By David Shepardson / The Detroit News

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DETROIT -- If nothing else, the U.S. attorney is a man who can cry.

Stephen J. Murphy III, a former assistant U.S. attorney and General Motors lawyer, repeatedly fought through tears after his formal swearing-in as the top law enforcement officer in eastern Michigan.

A Who's Who of Michigan politicians lauded Murphy Thursday and ribbed him about his performance as an assistant U.S. attorney.

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and Murphy were among the "young Turks" who served in the U.S. attorney's office in the 1990s, she noted.

In 1992, Granholm recalled seeing Murphy fall asleep at his desk with his finger on the "Z key."

Granholm and a colleague responded by sending Murphy a phony memorandum sternly reprimanding him for falling asleep on the job.

Among those speaking were Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman, state Attorney General Mike Cox, General Motors general counsel Thomas Gottschalk and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan.

Unmentioned directly but referenced by several speakers was the continuing fallout from the botched 2003 Detroit terrorism case.

A federal judge threw out the convictions of two Arab immigrants arrested shortly after Sept. 11 after a Justice Department review found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.

The case and a separate criminal investigation into the conduct of the former lead prosecutor are pending.

Bradford A. Berenson, a former White House counsel's office lawyer, noted that Murphy was taking over "at a time when the office has been through some serious difficulties."

Since taking office in March, Murphy has reshuffled the leadership in the office and issued a two-sentence mission statement. Murphy said his office "is dedicated to doing the right thing."

"We've had ups and we've had downs," Murphy said. "We have a lot of challenges ahead."

And he promised not to fall asleep on the job.

"No way," he said.

You can reach David Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or dshepardson@detnews.com.