Martin was born on October 3, 1878, to Dennis Martin and Catherine Martin née Keegan in
Watervliet, New York, and grew up there. He graduated from
New York Law School in 1902, and the following year moved to 2150 University Avenue in the Bronx, where he lived the remainder of his life. In 1905 he became an assistant
corporation counsel for the
New York City Law Department, and compiled such a good record in legal cases that when the Bronx was made a county, he received the backing of several bar groups, and more importantly, the
Democratic party in the Bronx, for the office of
Bronx County District Attorney. In the first election for county-wide positions in the Bronx on November 4, 1913, he won the district attorney election,[2] and took office on January 1, 1914[3] the date the Bronx became a county. His initial salary was $10,000 per year.[4]
District attorney
Martin's record as district attorney was that of aggressive law enforcement, most notably against organized crime.[1] In 1920, he stepped down from the district attorney's office to run for a seat as a judge on the
New York State Supreme Court, and won.[5][6] In 1923, he was named to the
Appellate Division by Governor
Al Smith,[7] and in 1934 he was re-elected as a justice.[8] In 1935, he was appointed as presiding justice of the Appellate Division by Governor
Herbert H. Lehman.[9][10] Martin also served as a state delegate to the New York Constitutional Conventions of
1915 and
1938.[1]
Death
Martin died unexpectedly at home on June 1, 1947,[1] and is buried in
Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.[11]