Third Judicial District Judge Mike Murphy (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Warning: This article contains language that is explicit and that many will find offensive.
A secret audio recording that serves as the basis for one felony bribery charge against District Judge Mike Murphy contains comments by the embattled judge about gay people that many would view as outrageous and inappropriate.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque obtained and posted online the entire 38-minute recording and aired an in-depth report about it on Thursday.
The first segment of the KOB report highlights the statements Murphy made on the recording that have led to the bribery charge against him. You can watch that report by clicking here.
As NMPolitics.net has reported, that bribery charge is based on allegations that Murphy offered “several promises” to District Judge Schultz during a December 2010 meeting if she would agree to be the tie-breaking vote to make Douglas R. Driggers the chief district judge in Las Cruces. Murphy says he’s innocent.
‘Outlandish and inflammatory’ comments
What hadn’t been reported on publicly – until now – was the extent of what, in the words of KOB reporter Gadi Schwartz, are “outlandish and inflammatory” comments Murphy made during that conversation with Schultz – a conversation Schultz secretly recorded.
You can listen to the full recording here:
During the meeting with Schultz, Murphy shared details of a conversation he said he had with an employee of the court. Here’s what Murphy said:
“He, you know, I told him a big old nasty faggot joke, and he says, you do know I’m gay? And I said of course. I said, if you weren’t I wouldn’t have told you that joke.”
He also talked with Schultz, who is a lesbian, about a female cousin he described as being gay. Murphy said when men “hit on her,” she would tell them that they had a lot in common: “We both like to eat pussy.” He then described her as “a diesel dike from day one.”
Murphy spoke during the conversation with Schultz about an apparent investigation into his conduct, referencing “my confidential deal about being, you know, uh, anti-gay, anti-semitic.” He said such allegations are “a crock of shit. You know, I may be rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, but I’m none of those other things.”
There’s lots more. Watch KOB’s second segment, which delves into the remarks, here:
‘My skin was crawling’
Included in that segment is an interview with New Mexico GLBTQ Centers Executive Director David Stocum, who listened to the recording and then reacted.
“My skin was crawling, when I was listening to them,” KOB quoted Stocum as saying about Murphy’s statements. “What I heard on that tape – I would not want to be a gay man or a lesbian standing in front of that judge.”
That raises a question about whether, if the suspended judge ever returns to the bench, he can preside over a case involving someone who is gay without there being at least an appearance of bias.
KOB didn’t highlight a statement about Hispanics some might view as offensive, but it’s part of the same conversation with Schultz.
“Traditions and culture are the hardest things to change,” Murphy said while referencing a new law relating to DWIs that he wanted to propose. “I’m not gonna talk Manny Mexican into having a quinceañera without having a keg.”
‘The First Amendment is a good thing’
NMPolitics.net asked Murphy’s attorney, Michael Stout, in August about the statements Murphy made during the meeting with Schultz. Here’s what Stout had to say:
“The First Amendment is a good thing, huh? As you know as well as anyone, it’s not a crime to be crude in (what you thought was) private conversation.”
As NMPolitics.net has detailed previously, members of the judicial nominating commission that interviewed Murphy for the judgeship in 2006 asked about his reputation for what Murphy himself called his tendency to make “locker-room jokes.”
Murphy told that commission he recognized the difference between what is appropriate “in the private setting” and what is appropriate in court, and promised that his mouth wouldn’t be an issue.