Meet Judge Murray

About Judge Murray

The Honorable Winfield W. Murray serves as a Federal Immigration Judge and for more than ten years he has served the students at Morehouse College as the Director of the Morehouse Moot Court Program.

Judge Murray began his legal career as a Judicial Clerk for the Chief Judge of the United States Virgin Islands. He went on to spearhead Atlanta’s Community Court which sought to reduce the rate of recidivism through alternative sentencing as a City Solicitor. Under his leadership, the court saw a 33% reduction in repeat offenders. Later, he became the Trial Counsel for the United States Department of Labor. In that capacity, he worked on a special task force created by Congress and the White House on cases within the Mine Safety and Health Division (MSHA). He then served as Trial Counsel for the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development in the Office of General Counsel where he focused on discrimination in the purchase, sale, or rental of real estate based upon race, gender, disability and/or familial status. In that role he secured the largest settlement under the Fair Housing Act within the southeastern United States. Judge Murray then served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Keisha L. Bottoms. In that capacity, he helped eradicate the cash bail system in the city of Atlanta which disproportionately impacted individuals on the lower end of the socioeconomic rung. He also worked on closing the Atlanta Detention Center and setting the groundwork to transform it into a Community Equity Center. In addition to practicing law, Judge Murray currently teaches Constitutional Law, Moot Court, and Race & Law at Morehouse College. During the 2015-2016 academic year, he led the Morehouse Moot Court Team to become the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s national championship team. The victory was historic on multiple levels as this was the first time that this honor had ever been achieved by a historically black college or university at the undergraduate level. The team was also the first African-American team to win the national championships. The Morehouse Moot Court team retains the distinct honor of being one of the top five teams in the country and the only HBCU to have an undergraduate moot court team. Judge Murray was named Pre-Law Director of the year in 2018 and in 2023 by The National HBCU Pre-Law Summit. Judge Murray also teaches within the state prison system and takes his students "inside" for a first-hand observation of mass incarceration and the industrial prison complex.