Eric E. Murphy
Eric Earl Murphy (born 1979) is an American judge who serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, a position he has held since March 11, 2019 after being appointed by President Donald Trump. He previously served as Ohio’s Solicitor General from 2013 to 2019.
Murphy was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He earned a BA from Miami University in 2001, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a year working as a grocery clerk, he attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he was on the Law Review and earned his JD in 2005 with high honors and Order of the Coif.
He clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III on the Fourth Circuit (2005–2006) and for Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court (2006–2007). He then worked as an appellate lawyer at Jones Day in Columbus, Ohio. In 2013, he became Ohio’s Solicitor General under Attorney General Mike DeWine. He is a member of the Federalist Society.
Trump announced Murphy’s nomination to the Sixth Circuit on June 7, 2018, to fill the seat of Judge Alice Batchelder. After a hearing in October 2018 and a series of nomination votes in early 2019, Murphy was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2019, and received his commission on March 11, 2019.
Notable opinions: In 2021, Murphy wrote a dissent in Gun Owners of America v. Garland arguing that the decision to ban bump stocks should come from the legislature, not the courts. In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that bump-stock devices are not machine guns in Garland v. Cargill. In 2025, he wrote the majority opinion in Defending Education v. Olentangy, holding that a school policy requiring students to use others’ preferred pronouns did not amount to harassment and could be seen as legitimate debate.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:54 (CET).