Air Force News, news from Iraq - Air Force Times

Article 32 waived for ex-Air Force legal chief

The commander overseeing the case against Col. Michael D. Murphy, former commander of the Air Force Legal Operations Agency, agreed Monday to waive Murphy’s Article 32 investigation and will now decide whether to send the case to trial.

Murphy faces charges that he practiced law without a license for more than 20 years and stole money from the Air Force on several occasions, according to a press release from the Air Force District of Washington.

The convening authority in the case, Brig. Gen. Franc Gorenc, commander of the Air Force District of Washington, now will decide whether to drop the charges or refer all or some of them to trial by general court-martial.

There was no word on when he might decide.

The Air Force on Aug. 9 dropped nine of the 22 charges against Murphy, but his lawyers were not informed of the change until Sept. 10, a little more than a week before his Article 32 investigation was set to begin at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The next day, his lawyers requested that his Article 32 hearing be waived.

If Gorenc refers the charges for trial, Murphy would be arraigned on the charges and enter a plea. He could also work out a plea agreement before the trial starts.

Murphy faces nine counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; three counts of larceny; and one count of failure to obey a lawful general regulation.

Ten of the charges relate to Murphy’s disbarment. Three relate to allegations that he stole $500 or more from each of three bases.

Col. James Sinwell, Murphy’s attorney, declined to comment on the case.

Murphy could face 41 years in prison if convicted and sentenced to the maximum for each count, although judges often combine punishments for separate counts, resulting in a lighter overall sentence.

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. He then lied to the client, telling him a hearing was pending.

The state of Texas sued Murphy in August 1982, accusing him of professional misconduct. As a result of that suit, Texas suspended Murphy’s law license for seven years, beginning in 1983. But in a January 1983 application to be admitted to the Louisiana bar, he stated under oath that he had never been sued or subject to disciplinary action.

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 in November 1983, after being suspended by Texas but before being disbarred by either state.

Military lawyers are required to maintain a valid law license in at least one state or territory, or in the District of Columbia. The charges allege that Murphy behaved in an unbecoming manner whenever he applied for or accepted a new job requiring that he be qualified as a judge advocate general, as he did several times during his career. He allegedly disobeyed a lawful regulation by failing to maintain a valid legal law license.

The larceny charges against Murphy have nothing to do with the credential issue and are related to alleged incidents uncovered during the course of the investigation.

According to the charging document released by the Air Force in May, Murphy is accused of stealing more than $500 from the Air Force on “diverse occasions” while in Washington, D.C., between May 2002 and January 2005. He is accused of stealing more than $500 between June 5 and June 15, 2005, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and again sometime in August 2005 while at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.