In the November 1974 elections he was endorsed by the Louisville Courier-Journal which praised him for his "innate fairness, temperament, experience, and training necessary to become an outstanding circuit judge.

[5] Martin's goals at the time were to speed up the appellate process, reduce cost, and create an efficient chain of justice, while maintaining a high level of conscientious decision-making.

[5] On June 5, 1979, Martin was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit created by 92 Stat.

[7] During his tenure as Chief Judge he steered the circuit through a turbulent period when up to seven of the sixteen judgeships were vacant due to an impasse between Congress and the president over judicial nominations.

Martin's style both on the bench and in written opinions was characterized by "no-nonsense jurisprudence," clear and concise writing, and a focus on common sense.

That Getsy will be put to death while Santine will be spared, and that the law (at least according to the majority) actually sanctions this result, makes it virtually impossible for me to answer in the affirmative what Justice Blackmun viewed as the fundamental question in Callins v. Collins.

In a much-noted dissent in Moore v. Parker,[12] Martin forcefully objected to the current administration of the death penalty: I have been a judge on this Court for more than twenty-five years.

But lest there be any doubt, the idea that the death penalty is fairly and rationally imposed in this country is a farce.Martin authored the affirmative action case Grutter v. Bollinger,[13] which held that the University of Michigan Law School could take into account an applicant's race in making admission decisions.

Grutter and its sister case, Gratz v. Bollinger, which challenged the University of Michigan's undergraduate affirmative action plan, eventually were appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

They also claimed the en banc review of the case was tainted because it was delayed until two conservative judges of the Sixth Circuit had retired, giving the court a liberal majority.

Judge Danny Julian Boggs took the unprecedented step of filing a "Procedural Appendix" as part of his dissent from Grutter, in which he explicitly accused Martin and the rest of the majority of improperly tampering with the case.

However, such a complaint could have been characterized as an ex ante attempt to influence the outcome of the case by manipulating the composition of the en banc panel, the very problem Boggs alleged.

The Judicial Watch foundation filed a formal complaint with the court alleging administrative improprieties, and subsequently wrote a complaining letter to Rep. Sensenbrenner of the House Judiciary Committee requesting an impeachment investigation.

[16] In January 2014, nearly six months after Judge Martin's retirement from the federal judiciary, allegations surrounding government-reimbursed travel expenses were referred to the U.S. Justice Department, according to an opinion by the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the U.S.

She and fellow conservatives on the court had battled Judge Martin and ideological allies of his for years, leading some to claim the charges may have been politically motivated.

[20] According to an affidavit by Martin's lawyer, outside counsel for the special committee had suggested his resignation and payment of the money would "conclude the matter and it would remain confidential."