John Thomas Marten (born November 24, 1951) is a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...

Education and career

Marten was born in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

in 1973 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of t ...

in 1976. He was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to former Associate Justice

Tom C. Clark Thomas Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899June 13, 1977) was an American lawyer who served as the 59th United States Attorney General, United States attorney general from 1945 to 1949 and as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United St ...

of the Supreme Court of the United States while Clark had senior status and was a visiting judge on several United States Courts of Appeals from 1976 to 1977. He was in private practice in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

from 1977 to 1980, then in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

until 1981, and then in

McPherson, Kansas McPherson ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,082. The city is named after Union (American Civil War), Union General ...

until 1996.

Federal judicial service

On October 18, 1995, Marten was nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Patrick F. Kelly. Marten was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on January 2, 1996, and received his commission on January 4, 1996. He served as Chief Judge from April 22, 2014 to May 1, 2017. He assumed senior status on May 1, 2017. He retired from the bench on May 1, 2021.

Notable case

On August 15, 2013, Judge Marten held that an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

opponent's letter to a Wichita doctor stating that someone might place an explosive under her car, absent sufficient contextual evidence indicating an imminent threat, is constitutionally protected speech and not a "

true threat A true threat is a threatening communication that can be prosecuted under the law. It is distinct from a threat that is made in jest, or a threatening remark that no reasonable person would perceive to be a genuine threat, intended to be acted upon ...

" under existing law. Judge Marten noted that the government supplied no evidence that actual violence against Dr. Mila Means was likely or imminent, especially since after receiving the letter the doctor changed plans to provide abortion services in Kansas.

References

Sources

* 1951 births Living people 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States People from McPherson, Kansas People from Topeka, Kansas United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton Washburn University alumni {{US-federal-judge-stub

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Notable case

See also

References

Sources