Goldwin Arthur Martin (17 May 191326 February 2001) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who was known as an expert on

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. He was a judge of the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Ha ...

from 1973 to 1988.

Early life and education

Martin was born on 17 May 1913 in

Huntsville, Ontario Huntsville is a town in Muskoka district, Ontario. It is located north of Toronto and south of North Bay. Of the three major Muskoka towns (the others being Gravenhurst and Bracebridge), Huntsville has the largest population (21,147 per 2 ...

. He graduated from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

in 1938 as gold medallist. He was called to the bar of Ontario in June of that year and to the bar of British Columbia in 1950.

Career

Martin became a defence lawyer in 1940. He represented 60 people charged with murder and none were convicted of murder, although some were convicted of other offences. He was elected

treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

in 1970. He was appointed to the

in 1973, and retired in 1988. John Arnup called Martin "the greatest criminal lawyer this country has produced". As a criminal defender, Martin developed techniques including the use of

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

es and the Insanity defense, insanity defence. In 1993, Martin chaired a royal commission on the use of plea bargaining in Ontario. The commission's recommendations enhanced the reputation of plea bargains, which had earlier been viewed with some suspicion by lawyers and judges. Martin died on 26 February 2001 in Toronto.

Awards

He was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 1991 and became a companion in 1997. He received honorary doctorates of law from Queen's University at Kingston, Queen's University and the Law Society of Upper Canada. The Ontario Criminal Lawyers' Association presents the G. Arthur Martin Criminal Justice Medal for an outstanding contribution to criminal justice.

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Goldwin Arthur 1913 births 2001 deaths Canadian King's Counsel Companions of the Order of Canada Justices of the Court of Appeal for Ontario Lawyers in Ontario People from Huntsville, Ontario Treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada