Boyce F. Martin Jr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boyce F. Martin Jr.
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
In office October 1, 1996 – September 30, 2003
Preceded by	Gilbert S. Merritt Jr.
Succeeded by	Danny Julian Boggs
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
In office September 26, 1979 – August 16, 2013
Appointed by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629
Succeeded by	Amul Thapar
Personal details
Born	Boyce Ficklen Martin Jr. (1935-10-23)October 23, 1935 Boston, Massachusetts
Died	June 1, 2016(2016-06-01) (aged 80) Louisville, Kentucky
Education	Davidson College (AB) University of Virginia School of Law (JD)

Boyce Ficklen Martin Jr. (October 23, 1935 – June 1, 2016) was an important judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was chosen by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Martin was the main judge (called "chief judge") for the Sixth Circuit from 1996 to 2003. During his 34 years as a judge, he wrote over 1,100 legal decisions. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky.

Early Life and Career

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Boyce F. Martin Jr. went to Davidson College and earned a degree in 1957. After college, he worked in banking for a while. He later studied law at the University of Virginia School of Law, getting his law degree in 1963.

Right after law school, he worked for Shackelford Miller Jr., who was the Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit at the time. This was the same important job Martin would hold many years later. From 1964 to 1965, he worked as a prosecutor, first as an Assistant United States Attorney, then as the main United States Attorney for Western Kentucky.

He briefly worked as a private lawyer in Louisville. However, in 1974, the Governor of Kentucky chose him to become a judge on the Jefferson County Circuit Court. In the November 1974 elections, he won his judge position easily. The Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper praised him for being fair and experienced.

Improving Kentucky's Courts

In the 1970s, Martin worked hard to improve Kentucky's court system. The system had not changed much since 1850 and had many problems. For example, many local courts had judges who were not lawyers and sometimes not well-trained.

Appeals from these courts could take a very long time, sometimes two or three years. Martin and others pushed for big changes. On November 4, 1975, voters approved a new plan for the state's courts. This plan created a modern court system with a new Court of Appeals and a new Kentucky Supreme Court.

As a reformer, Martin became the first Chief Judge of the new Court of Appeals. He quickly helped the new court start working and clear up old cases. His main goals were to make the appeal process faster and cheaper, while still making good decisions. These goals were met, and the new Court of Appeals was seen as a great success.

Becoming a Federal Judge

On June 5, 1979, President Jimmy Carter nominated Martin to become a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. This was a new judge position that had just been created. The United States Senate approved his nomination on September 25, 1979. He officially became a judge the next day.

He served as the Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit from October 1, 1996, to September 30, 2003. During this time, he led the court through a difficult period. Many judge positions were empty because the Congress and the president could not agree on who to appoint.

Judge Martin was known for his clear and direct way of judging. His written decisions were easy to understand and focused on common sense. He believed that a judge's decision should help the people involved and explain the law clearly to everyone. He also made sure to publish his decisions quickly so people did not have to wait too long for justice. Sometimes, he would even add fun quotes to his opinions.

He retired from his federal judge position on August 16, 2013.

Important Cases and Decisions

Judge Martin wrote about many important legal topics.

Affirmative Action

One very important case Judge Martin oversaw was Grutter v. Bollinger. This case was about whether the University of Michigan Law School could consider a student's race when deciding who to admit. The court decided that they could.

This case, along with a similar one, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed with Judge Martin's decision in the Grutter case. This meant that law schools could consider race as one factor in admissions.

The Grutter case was very controversial. Some judges on the Sixth Circuit argued that Judge Martin had unfairly handled the case. They claimed he delayed the review of the case until some conservative judges had retired, which gave the court a more liberal majority. Judge Danny Julian Boggs even wrote a special note in his disagreement, accusing Martin of improperly changing how the case was handled. Other judges disagreed with Boggs, saying he only complained after the decision was made.

An independent committee later looked into these complaints. They found some issues with how the investigation was handled. However, they also noted that Judge Martin did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Travel Expense Review

After Judge Martin retired in 2013, there were questions about some of his travel expenses that the government had paid for. The Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit, Alice M. Batchelder, made the first complaint.

In May 2013, Judge Martin agreed to pay back all $138,500 of his travel expenses from the time period in question. He said he made some mistakes but wanted to resolve the issue quickly. In March 2014, the Justice Department reviewed the matter and decided not to pursue any further action.

Death

Boyce F. Martin Jr. passed away at his home in Louisville on June 1, 2016, at the age of 80. He died from brain cancer.

Sources

• Boyce Ficklen Martin Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.