Lionel (Keith) Murphy

Lawyer and politician, born in Sydney, New South Wales, SE Australia. He studied chemistry at the University of Sydney, but turned to law. Unusually, he was admitted to the New South Wales bar in 1947 before graduating as a lawyer from the University of Sydney in 1949. He was elected as Labor senator for New South Wales in the 1962 Federal Parliament, became opposition leader in 1967, and was appointed attorney-general in 1972. He oversaw several items of landmark legislation, including the Family Law Act, the Law Reform Commission, the Trade Practices Act, and the Human Rights Commission. In 1975 he was appointed to the High Court of Australia, where he made many progressive decisions. Accused in 1984 of having attempted to pervert the course of justice, he was exonerated in 1986, but died soon after. A controversial figure who challenged political and legal boundaries, the impact of his reforms on Australian society is widely acknowledged.

Lionel Murphy

Former Attorney-General of Australia
In office 1972 – 1975
Preceded by	Gough Whitlam
Succeeded by	Keppel Enderby
Born	30 August 1922
Died	21 October 1986
Constituency	Senator for New South Wales
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse	Nina Morrow Ingrid Gee (neé Grzonkowski)

Lionel Keith Murphy (30 August 1922 - 21 October 1986), Australian politician, was Attorney-General in the Government of Gough Whitlam, and a Justice of the High Court of Australia.

Murphy was the youngest son of William and Lily Murphy, and grew up in Sydney. They had two sons, Cameron Murphy (who, as of 2005, heads the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties), and Blake Murphy.

Murphy's most important legislative achievement was the Family Law Act, which completely overhauled Australia's law on divorce and other family law matters, establishing the principle of "no fault" divorce in the face of opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and other right-wing forces.

In 1975 Whitlam appointed Murphy to a vacancy on the High Court of Australia.

In July 1985, during the term of the Hawke Labor government, Murphy was convicted on one of two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice, over allegations made by Clarrie Briese, the Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, that Murphy had attempted to influence a court case against Sydney lawyer, Morgan Ryan, whom Murphy referred to as "my little mate".

Attorney-General Lionel Bowen, acting on what he said was his belief that the Justices of the High Court were minded to take some independent action to assess Justice Murphy's fitness to return to the Court, introduced legislation for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, constituted by three retired judges, to examine "whether any conduct of the Honourable Lionel Keith Murphy has been such as to amount, in its opinion, to proved misbehaviour within the meaning of section 72 of the Constitution."

(Section 72 specifies that a High Court judge may only be removed by the Governor-General and both houses of Parliament, "on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.")

The terms of this inquiry specifically excluded the issues for which Murphy had already been tried and acquitted (see ).

The Lionel Murphy Nebula was named in acknowledgement of Murphy's interest in science, and for a perceived resemblance to his distinctive nose.