Local leaders mourn loss of retired Judge Matthew Murphy III

Mark Scheer, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·4 min read

Oct. 12—In many ways and for many years, Matthew J. Murphy III left his mark on the local criminal justice system.

Murphy still holds the distinction of having been Niagara County's longest-tenured district attorney and is credited with developing the county's domestic violence program.

As a county judge who served on the bench for 13 years, Murphy presided over some of Niagara County's highest-profile cases, including a highly controversial case at the tail end of his career in which he decided against jail time for a Lewiston man who admitted to sexually assaulting four women.

Murphy died on Monday, aged 70, following a brief illness. Those who worked with Murphy recalled him as a community minded person, a dedicated public servant and a fair jurist who took his job very seriously.

"We are all deeply saddened by the passing of retired Niagara County Court Judge Matt Murphy," said Niagara County Legislature Chairperson Rebecca Wydysh. "Judge Murphy had a distinguished career as both a Niagara County Court judge and district attorney and served in those positions with honor and dignity. I had the pleasure to work closely with Judge Murphy and know that beyond his roles as a public servant, he was just a genuine person who really cared for those around him. Even if you disagreed with him, you know that his decisions came from a place of trying to do what he believed was right."

"On behalf of the Niagara County Legislature, we extend our deepest condolences to his wife, family and to all those who were lucky enough to call him a friend," Wydysh added.

Current District Attorney Brian Seaman, who was recruited to return home to Niagara County to work as an assistant district attorney by Murphy, called his former boss "an extraordinary leader" who significantly modernized the DA's office, placing a greater focus on prosecution of domestic violence and driving while intoxicated. He credited Murphy with transitioning the DA's office away from staffing by part-time prosecutors who also kept a hand in private practice, to a place "where lawyers were full time, allowing criminal prosecution to be their career and professional vocation."

"It is no exaggeration to say that Matt brought this office into the modern age," Seaman said.

Seaman also noted that Murphy was an excellent trial lawyer who never stopped working on cases himself.

"When he stood up to argue, he commanded the courtroom," the DA said. "It was something to watch."

Recalling that Murphy had nurtured what are now some of his office's most skilled prosecutors, Seaman lamented that the former judge and DA had only a brief time to enjoy his retirement.

"Above all else, I think Judge Murphy would want to be known as a man of unwavering integrity," Seaman said. "He always did what he thought was right, and sometimes paid a price for it. I'm sorry that he didn't get to enjoy the retirement that he so greatly earned for longer. He will be sorely missed by the legal community of Niagara County, and the community at large."

A longtime Lockport resident who attended DeSales Catholic High School, Murphy earned his bachelor's degree from St. John Fisher College in 1974. He graduated from Albany Law School three years later.

His law career included a seven-year stint as an assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Western District of New York. In 1983, he was named the chief attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Task Force.

Murphy went on to become Niagara County District Attorney, a job he held for 16 years, which remains the mark for the longest-serving DA in the county's history.

He was elected a county judge in 2007 and reelected in 2017. During his 13-year tenure on the bench, Murphy presided over numerous criminal cases in both Niagara and Orleans counties. He also served as a judge for Niagara County's Integrated Domestic Violence Court.

In December 2021, mere weeks before his retirement, Murphy issued the most controversial decision of his career. In that case, he determined jail time would be "inappropriate" for Christopher Belter, a 20-year-old man who admitted to sexually assaulting four teenage girls in his parents' house in Lewiston. Murphy sentenced Belter to eight years of probation and monitoring as a sex offender. The decision drew national attention, with several sexual assault victims decrying his decision and a victims' rights group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, filing a complaint against Murphy with the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Before rendering his decision in the Belter case, Murphy said he "agonized" and then prayed for guidance. The judge did deny a request from Belter's attorney that his client be granted youthful offender status and instead sentenced him as an adult, which required Belter to register as a sex offender.

At sentencing, Murphy warned Belter that eight years of probation would be "like a sword dangling over your head."

Recently, an attorney representing one of Belter's victims said that while he thoroughly disagreed with Murphy's sentence, he had no doubt that the judge did what he believed was right, and praised his integrity.