Louisiana Supreme Court Justices
1813-Present |
François-Xavier Martin (1762 - 1846)
Judge, Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans, March 21, 1810, to March 1, 1813
Supreme Court of Louisiana, February 1, 1815, to March 19, 1846
Presiding Judge, November 15, 1836, to March 19, 1846
Born March 17, 1762, in Marseilles, France • Educated at home by the family priest • Emigrated to North Carolina in 1783 and entered the printing trade, becoming successful as a law book publisher • Read law with Governor Abner Nash and was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1789 • Served a term in the North Carolina Legislature, 1806 • Appointed federal judge for the Territory of Mississippi by President Madison in 1809 • Transferred to New Orleans to serve on Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans in 1810 • Appointed Attorney General for Louisiana in 1813 by Governor Claiborne • Appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Louisiana in 1815, serving until 1846 • Reported and published the first 20 volumes of Louisiana Supreme Court decisions, compiled a digest of the reports, and wrote the first published history of Louisiana in 1827 • Steeped in both civil and common law, is considered "The Father of Louisiana Jurisprudence" • Retired unwillingly at the age of 84 and died 9 months later on December 10, 1846 • Although suffering always from poor eyesight and blindness during his final 10 years, was a prodigious worker • Portrait painted by George David Coulon
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