Beverly B. Martin

Beverly Baldwin Martin (born August 7, 1955) is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Beverly B. Martin
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
In office January 28, 2010 – September 30, 2021
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	R. Lanier Anderson III
Succeeded by	Nancy Abudu
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
In office August 3, 2000 – February 1, 2010
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	George Ernest Tidwell
Succeeded by	Leigh Martin May
Personal details
Born	(1955-08-07) August 7, 1955 (age 69) Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Stetson University (BA) University of Georgia (JD)

Early life and education

Born in Macon, Georgia, Martin graduated from Stratford Academy in 1973 before attending Mercer University for one year from 1972 to 1973. She subsequently transferred to Stetson University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976. She earned a Juris Doctor from University of Georgia School of Law in 1981.^[1]

Professional career

Martin was in private practice with the firm of Martin Snow, LLP in Georgia from 1981 to 1984, and was also an assistant attorney general in the State Law Department of the Office of Attorney General of Georgia from 1984 to 1994. She was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia from 1994 to 1997 and United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia from 1997 to 2000.^[1][2]

Federal judicial service

Northern District of Georgia

On the recommendation of Senator Max Cleland, Martin was nominated on March 27, 2000, by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia vacated by George Ernest Tidwell. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 16, 2000, and received her commission on August 3, 2000. Her service terminated on February 1, 2010, due to elevation to the court of appeals.^[1]

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

On June 19, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Martin to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated by Judge R. Lanier Anderson III, who assumed senior status on January 31, 2009.^[3] The United States Senate confirmed Martin's nomination by a 97–0 vote on January 20, 2010.^[4] She received her commission on January 28, 2010.^[1]

She retired from active service on September 30, 2021.^[5] On October 4, 2021, Martin became the executive director at the New York University School of Law's Center on Civil Justice.^[6][7]

Notable decision as a circuit judge

In June 2020, Martin dissented when the divided panel vacated a lower court's injunction ordering the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department to enforce social distancing and take other preventative measures to protect prisoners from COVID-19.^[8][9]

In September 2020, Martin dissented when the en banc majority upheld a statute imposing additional financial obligations upon felons seeking reenfranchisement under a recent ballot initiative.^[10][11]

In November 2020, Martin dissented when the majority found that a municipality’s ban on minor conversion therapy violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[12][13]

References

1. "Martin, Beverly Baldwin". Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021.
2. "United States Senate Committee for the Judiciary Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate. June 19, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
3. "President Obama Nominates Judge Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. for the Third Circuit, and Judge Beverly B. Martin for United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit" (Press release). White House Office of the Press Secretary. June 19, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010.
4. "On the Nomination (Confirmation Beverly Baldwin Martin, of Georgia, to be U.S. Circuit Judge)". United States Senate. January 20, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
5. Rankin, Bill (May 18, 2021). "Judge to leave Atlanta appeals court, giving President Biden a vacancy to fill". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
6. "Judge Beverly Martin to join Center on Civil Justice as executive director" (Press release). New York University School of Law. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
7. Zoppo, Avalon (October 5, 2021). "Retired 11th Circuit Judge Beverly Martin Named Executive Director of NYU Law's Center on Civil Justice". New York Law Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
8. Note, Recent Case: Eleventh Circuit Holds that a Florida Jail Was Not Deliberately Indifferent to the Spread of COVID-19, 134 Harv. L. Rev. 2622 (2021).
9. Swain v. Junior, 961 F.3d 1276 (11th Cir. 2020).
10. Note, Recent Case: Eleventh Circuit Upholds Statute Limiting Constitutional Amendment on Felon Reenfranchisement, 134 Harv. L. Rev. 2291 (2021).
11. Jones v. Governor of Florida, 975 F.3d 1016 (11th Cir. 2020).
12. Note, Recent Case: Eleventh Circuit Invalidates Minor Conversion Therapy Bans, 134 Harv. L. Rev. 2863 (2021).
13. Otto v. City of Boca Raton, 981 F.3d 854 (11th Cir. 2020).

Sources

• Beverly B. Martin at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Beverly Martin at Ballotpedia

Legal offices
Preceded by James Lamar Wiggins	United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia 1997–2000	Succeeded by Maxwell Wood
Preceded by George Ernest Tidwell	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 2000–2010	Succeeded by Leigh Martin May
Preceded by R. Lanier Anderson III	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 2010–2021	Succeeded by Nancy Abudu