Harold Lloyd Murphy, Senior U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Georgia, died on Wednesday. Below is a tribute to his life and career from his former law clerks. 

Judge Harold Murphy was—for most, if not all of us—our single most important mentor. He loved trying cases; and he loved telling stories about his trials before he became a judge (ending with a funny twist and making fun of himself). Judge Murphy also had an irrepressible sense of humor. He was a judge who would incessantly laugh at funny events in the courtroom (often turning his chair around so the jury would not see him laughing; the lawyers and clerks knew he was laughing because his shoulders bounced up and down just above the horizon of his chair).