John C. Martin

Who is John C. Martin?

John Charles Martin is an American judge, currently serving as Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He is retiring from the court on August 1, 2014.

Born in Durham, North Carolina, Martin earned an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in 1965 and his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1967. After serving in the United States Army from 1967 to 1969, Martin entered private law practice.

Martin served one term on the city council of Durham before becoming a North Carolina Superior Court judge in 1977 by appointment of Gov. Jim Hunt. He was elected to the Court of Appeals in 1984, where he served from 1985 to 1988 and from 1993 until the present. He has been chief judge of the court since 2004. He has also served as chairman of the state's Judicial Standards Commission since 2001. Judge Martin received the North Carolina Bar Association's highest honor, the John J. Parker Memorial Award, in 2013. He was elected president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal for the year 2013-2014.

Judge Martin is married to Margaret Rand Martin and has three children, two stepchildren and seven grandchildren.