James Robert Martin Jr. (November 30, 1909 – November 14, 1984) was a

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 Eastern District of South Carolina The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

, the United States District Court for the Western District of South Carolina and later the

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charle ...

Education and career

Born in Greenville,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, Martin received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the histo ...

in 1931. From 1931 to 1944 he was in private practice in Greenville. He was a member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

from

Greenville County Greenville County ( ; locally ) is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to t ...

from 1943 to 1944. He was a judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina from 1944 to 1961.

Federal judicial service

Martin was nominated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

on August 30, 1961, to the

and to the United States District Court for the Western District of South Carolina, to a new joint seat created by 75 Stat. 80. He 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 September 8, 1961, and received his commission on September 18, 1961. He served as Chief Judge of the Western District from 1962 to 1965. He was reassigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to the

on November 1, 1965, to a new seat authorized by 79 Stat. 951. He served as Chief Judge from 1965 to 1979. He assumed senior status on November 30, 1979. Martin served in that capacity until his death on November 14, 1984.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, James Robert Jr. 1909 births 1984 deaths Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of South Carolina Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy 20th-century American lawyers Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly