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title: "Diana E. Murphy | KnowJudges"
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# Diana E. Murphy

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1994-present
- Judge, District Court, D. Minnesota, 1980-1994
- Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, becoming the first woman to serve there and the first woman to be Chief Judge of a district court in the Eighth Circuit (1992–1994)
- Judge, Minnesota District Court, Fourth Judicial District, 1978-1980
- Judge, Hennepin County Minnesota Municipal Court, 1976-1978
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

### Education

- She later received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1974, serving as editor of the Minnesota Law Review.
- B.A. in Central European Area Studies from the University of Minnesota in 1954, supported by a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.

### Additional information

- She assumed senior status in 2016 and retired in 2018.
- Chair, U.S. Sentencing Commission, 1999-2004
- In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the first woman to serve on that circuit.
- Private practice, Minneapolis, MN, 1974-1976
- Born Diana Esther Kuske on January 4, 1934, in Faribault, Minnesota, Murphy graduated from St. Paul Central High School
- Date of birth: 1934-01-01
- Birth place: Faribault, MN

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2355/diana-e-murphy/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2355/diana-e-murphy/)
- [Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2355/diana-e-murphy/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2355/diana-e-murphy/)
- [Murphy, Diana E.](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/murphy-diana-e)
- [Women of Justice: Diana E. Murphy | GSA](https://www.gsa.gov/blog/2021/03/11/women-of-justice-diana-e-murphy)
- [Wikidata: Diana E. Murphy](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5271145)

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