A HUMBLE START - A HUMBLE FINISH `` THE LEGACY OF THE HONORABLE TIMOTHY J. MARTIN by William R. Levasseur, Jr. In 2005, when Timothy J. Martin, Esquire was selected by then Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. as a new appointee to the Bench of the Third Judicial Court, there was no political plum being picked, nor any favor being returned to Attorney Martin, to Baltimore County, nor to anyone. During his second interview with the Governor, after the technical-legal topics were fully explored, Tim Martin was asked what books he had read recently. The soon-to-be-judge, a veracious reader and avid student of the French language, was more than happy to engage in that discussion. Lore has it that the two of them discussed literature for the next twenty or so minutes. No one knows for certain what influences a Governor’s judicial appointments (and there are many theories, to be sure), but it is safe to say that Judge Martin did not fail himself, nor the citizens of Baltimore County, in the course of that lively exchange.
Stevedore Manager (father) and a school teacher from New York (mother), launched himself into the legal profession through humble beginnings that mattered most. Young Tim Martin enrolled in the ROTC program at Loyola College of Maryland to acquire his higher education, graduating in 1967. It was there that this All-American lacrosse star would be strongly influenced by the modest teachings and philosophy of the Jesuit traditions. Perhaps it was Combat Engineer Platoon Leader Martin’s service to his country as a United States Army Officer in Viet Nam during a perilous tour of duty from 1968 to 1969 (honorably discharged in 1970) that made the difference. There is little doubt that Prosecutor Martin’s distinguished career in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office (19761977), then the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office (1977-1978), had some sway with the Governor. But, the strongest influence to his appointment to the Baltimore County Bench was most likely, Timothy J. Martin’s reputation as an extremely well-prepared domestic relations practitioner who approached these difficult cases rationally, pragmatically, and, with respectful wisdom. By all appearances, Governor Ehrlich was genuinely committed to improving the quality and procedures of the Third Judicial Circuit’s handling and management of the Family Law Court of Baltimore County, and beginning on November 8, 2005, the date of Judge Martin’s first day on the job, that is exactly what began to happen. March 18, 2015 regrettably marked the end of Judge Martin's tenure as an Associate Judge on the Baltimore County Bench (see Daniel Stringer Esq.'s article in this issue of the Advocate for coverage of Judge Martin's last day in the courtroom which occurred on Friday, January 30, 2015—baseball caps and all—and the retirement luncheon that followed).
Perhaps it was the fact that this intense and deeply ethical attorney, the son of a Port of a Baltimore
THE ADVOCATE
Timothy J. Martin entered private practice as an associate attorney with the law firm of Beach Cadigan & Kahl in 1978. He developed a close
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May 2015