MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Colleagues are paying tribute to Judge Diana Murphy, the first woman to serve on the federal bench in Minnesota.
Murphy died Wednesday at age 84. She had been in poor health but kept working through April. She was appointed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1994 after serving as a U.S. District Court judge since 1980.
The chief federal judge for Minnesota, John Tunheim, says her “long and distinguished career opened doors to help diversify the courts and to provide inspirational leadership to generations of judges and lawyers.”
Judge Ann Montgomery says she could “match wits and intellect with anyone.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Murphy helped “break the judicial glass ceiling” and pushed for more female judges.
Services are Tuesday at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
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