Mark Martin (judge)
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Mark D. Martin (born April 29, 1963) is an American jurist who served as the chief justice of the
Supreme Court of North Carolina The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...
from 2014 through 2019. He was appointed by North Carolina Governor
Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor o ...
to become Chief Justice on September 1, 2014 upon the retirement of
Sarah Parker Sarah Parker (born August 23, 1942) is an American judge who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from February 2006 until August 2014. Education and career Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Parker attended Meredith ...
. Martin was already running for the seat in the 2014 general election. Prior to his tenure at the North Carolina Supreme Court, Martin also served on the
North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...
, and the
North Carolina Superior Court The Superior Court is North Carolina's general jurisdiction trial court. It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court. Jurisdiction and administration The Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in North Caroli ...
. At the time of his installation in 1999, he was the youngest Supreme Court Justice in North Carolina history. He was also the youngest person ever elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.


Education

Martin was born in Brussels, where his father, who served in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, was assigned to the U.S. Embassy. Martin received his J.D. degree, with honors, at the
University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...
and received a B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from
Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...
. He also has a Master of Laws (LL.M.) Degree in Judicial Process from the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
. During law school, Martin served as Editor-in-Chief of the ''North Carolina Journal of International Law & Commercial Regulation'' and was inducted into the Davis Society.


Career

After graduating from law school, Martin served as a judicial law clerk to United States District Judge
Clyde H. Hamilton Clyde Henry Hamilton (February 8, 1934 – September 2, 2020) was a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former United States district judge for the United States District Court for ...
. Following his clerkship, Martin practiced law at the McNair Law Firm in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
. He then served as Legal Counsel to
James G. Martin James Grubbs Martin (born December 11, 1935) is an American organic chemist and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 70th governor of North Carolina from 1985 to 1993. He was the third Republican elected to the of ...
, the
Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
, until his appointment in 1992 as Resident Superior Court Judge in
Pitt County, North Carolina Pitt County is a county located in the inner banks (northeastern part) of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,243, making it the fourteenth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is ...
. From 1994 to 1999, Martin served as a Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He began serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina in January 1999 and became the Senior Associate Justice in February 2006. He became re-elected to an eight-year term in November 2006. In August 2014, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory announced he woul
appoint Justice Martin as Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court
The appointment came as former Chief Justice
Sarah Parker Sarah Parker (born August 23, 1942) is an American judge who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from February 2006 until August 2014. Education and career Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Parker attended Meredith ...
reached the state's mandatory retirement age of 72. Martin then won his bid for a full term as chief justice on November 4, 2014. Martin has served on the adjunct faculty at
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
School of Law,
University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...
, and
North Carolina Central University School of Law The North Carolina Central University School of Law (also known as NCCU School of Law or NCCU Law) is the law school associated with North Carolina Central University. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the ...
. On January 25, 2019, Martin announced that he would retire from the
North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...
in February 2019.
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...
appointed Associate Justice Cheri Beasley as Martin’s successor. Martin took on a new role as Dean of the Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with this role becoming effective on March 1, 2019. In 2022, it was announced that he would be leaving Regent University to become the founding Dean of a new law school at
High Point University High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...
. In early January 2021, it was reported that Martin had participated in the attempts to overturn the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
during President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's last efforts to stay in power before the
certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory by telling the President that Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
had the constitutional authority to block the certification by rejecting the Electoral College votes from multiple states. Pence ultimately did not accept Martin's argument, instead certifying Biden as the winner of the election.


Professional involvement

Martin has served on a number of entities within the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
(ABA), including the Advisory Commission to the World Justice Project, the Executive Committee of the Appellate Judges Conference, the Coalition for Justice, the Commission on State Court Funding, the John Marshall Award Review Committee, and ''The Judges’ Journal'' Editorial Board. He served as Chair of the ABA Judicial Division Program Committee in 2007-08. Martin has also been active within the Appellate Judges Education Institute (AJEI), serving as both a member and Chair of the Program Planning Committee. He was elected chair of the ABA Judicial Division in 2013.State Government Radio


References


External links


Official Supreme Court biographyNews & Observer profile
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Mark 1963 births 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Duke University School of Law faculty Living people North Carolina Court of Appeals judges North Carolina Republicans Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Regent University people University of North Carolina School of Law alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Western Carolina University alumni