Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

and previously was a United States District Judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

. Manton was acquitted of bribery, but convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He served 19 months in federal prison.Mark Grossman, ''Political Corruption in America: An encyclopedia of scandals, power, and greed'' (2003) pp. 219-20.

Education and career

Born on August 2, 1880, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York, Manton received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

in 1901 from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. He entered private practice in New York City from 1901 to 1916, part of that time partnered with William Bourke Cockran.Borkin, 1962

Notable client

In 1915, Manton was attorney for

Charles Becker Charles Becker (July 26, 1870 – July 30, 1915) was a lieutenant in the New York City Police Department between the 1890s and the 1910s. He is known for the scandal of being tried, convicted, and executed for the first-degree murder of the Man ...

, the New York City police officer who was convicted and executed in the Rosenthal murder trial.

Federal judicial service

Manton was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

on August 15, 1916, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Charles Merrill Hough. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on August 23, 1916, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 22, 1918, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit. Manton was nominated by President Wilson on March 12, 1918, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 18, 1918, and received commission the same day. He was a member of the

Conference of Senior Circuit Judges The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

(now the Judicial Conference of the United States) from 1926 to 1938. His service terminated on February 7, 1939, due to his resignation.

Supreme Court consideration

In 1922, President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

considered appointing Manton to the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed Justice William R. Day in what was then regarded as the "

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

seat" on the Court. Manton encountered opposition led by Chief Justice

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, and Harding ultimately appointed Justice

Pierce Butler Pierce or Piers Butler may refer to: *Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (c. 1467 – 26 August 1539), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland *Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye (1652–1740), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland * P ...

to the seat.

Notable cases

During the 1930s, Manton's seniority made him the Senior Circuit Judge of the Court (the rough equivalent of the

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

position today). He wrote a memorable dissenting opinion in the obscenity litigation instigated by

Bennett Cerf Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...

concerning the book ''Ulysses'' by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, ''United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses'', 72 F.2d 705 (

2d Cir. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate jur ...

1934). Judges

Learned Hand Billings Learned Hand ( ; January 27, 1872 – August 18, 1961) was an American jurist, lawyer, and judicial philosopher. He served as a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924 a ...

and Augustus Noble Hand decided that the book was not obscene, but Manton voted to ban it. Manton was also involved in a series of controversial decisions concerning control and financing of the companies then operating the New York City Subway.

Resignation and conspiracy conviction

Manton suffered severe financial reverses during the Great Depression and began to accept gifts and loans from persons having business before his court, some of which allegedly constituted outright bribes for selling his vote in pending patent litigation. Rumors of corruption spread and in 1939, Manton resigned under pressure of investigations by

Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

, who wrote a letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee recommending impeachment proceedings by a federal grand jury. Following his resignation, Manton was indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York where he once sat as a judge. The government was represented at trial by John T. Cahill, the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Southern District of New York. Judge William Calvin Chesnut of the District of Maryland presided over the jury trial at which Manton called former Democratic Presidential candidates Alfred Smith and

John W. Davis John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...

as character witnesses. Manton was convicted for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Manton's conviction was affirmed by a specially constituted Second Circuit panel consisting of retired Supreme Court Justice

George Sutherland George Alexander Sutherland (March 25, 1862July 18, 1942) was an English-born American jurist and politician. He served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1922 and 1938. As a member of the Republican Party, he also repre ...

, Supreme Court Justice

Harlan Fiske Stone Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname * Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive *Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), American Olympic diver *Byron B. Harlan (1886–1949), American politician * Byron ...

, and newly appointed Second Circuit Judge

Charles Edward Clark Charles Edward Clark (December 9, 1889 – December 13, 1963) was Dean of Yale Law School and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Education and career Born on December 9, 1889, in Woodbrid ...

. Manton was sentenced to two years in

Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary The United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg (USP Lewisburg) is a medium-security United States federal prison in Pennsylvania for male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. ...

and served 17 months.

Death

Manton died on November 17, 1946, in Fayetteville, New York, where he had moved following his release from prison.

Honor

To this day, a park in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York bears Manton's name.

Legacy

The 1940 Pulitzer Prize for reporting was awarded to S. Burton Heath for his coverage of the Manton trial for the ''

New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...

''.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Manton, Martin 1880 births 1946 deaths 20th-century American judges American people convicted of bribery Columbia Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York United States court of appeals judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson