John E. Martin

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American politician and jurist

title: "John E. Martin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1891-births", "1968-deaths", "20th-century-wisconsin-state-court-judges", "20th-century-wisconsin-politicians", "politicians-from-green-bay,-wisconsin", "military-personnel-from-wisconsin", "university-of-wisconsin–madison-alumni", "notre-dame-law-school-alumni", "wisconsin-attorneys-general", "chief-justices-of-the-wisconsin-supreme-court", "green-bay-east-high-school-alumni"] description: "American politician and jurist" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Martin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician and jurist ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
honorific-prefix	The Honorable
name	John E. Martin
image name	John E. Martin (1891-1968) (8254108492) (1).jpg
caption	Martin
order	16th
title	Chief Justice of the
term_start	January 7, 1957
term_end	January 1, 1962
predecessor	Edward T. Fairchild
successor	Grover L. Broadfoot
office1	Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
appointer1	Oscar Rennebohm
term_start1	June 1, 1948
term_end1	January 1, 1962
predecessor1	Chester A. Fowler
successor1	Myron L. Gordon
order2	29th
office2	Attorney General of Wisconsin
term_start2	January 2, 1939
term_end2	June 1, 1948
governor2	{{unbulleted list
predecessor2	Orland Steen Loomis
successor2	Grover L. Broadfoot
birth_name	John Edward Martin
birth_date
birth_place	Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
restingplace	Resurrection Cemetery
Madison, Wisconsin
party	Republican
spouse	{{unbulleted list
children	{{unbulleted list
father	Patrick Henry Martin
mother	Mary Ellen (Wigman) Martin
relatives	Joseph Martin (uncle)
<!-- DEPRECATED	religion
alma_mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Notre Dame Law School
allegiance	United States
branch	United States Army
American Expeditionary Forces
serviceyears	1917–1921
rank	[[File:US-O3_insignia.svg
unit	127th Infantry Reg., 32nd Div.
battles	World War I
mawards	[[File:Purple_Heart_ribbon.svg
::

|honorific-prefix = The Honorable |name = John E. Martin |image name = John E. Martin (1891-1968) (8254108492) (1).jpg |caption = Martin |order = 16th |title = Chief Justice of the | term_start = January 7, 1957 | term_end = January 1, 1962 | predecessor = Edward T. Fairchild | successor = Grover L. Broadfoot |office1 = Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court | appointer1 = Oscar Rennebohm | term_start1 = June 1, 1948 | term_end1 = January 1, 1962 | predecessor1 = Chester A. Fowler | successor1 = Myron L. Gordon |order2 = 29th |office2 = Attorney General of Wisconsin | term_start2 = January 2, 1939 | term_end2 = June 1, 1948 | governor2 = {{unbulleted list | Julius P. Heil | Walter Samuel Goodland | Oscar Rennebohm | predecessor2 = Orland Steen Loomis | successor2 = Grover L. Broadfoot |birth_name = John Edward Martin |birth_date = |birth_place = Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |restingplace = Resurrection Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |party = Republican |spouse = {{unbulleted list | Mary Kerwin | (died 1974) |children = {{unbulleted list | John Edward Martin, Jr. | Mary Hope |father = Patrick Henry Martin |mother = Mary Ellen (Wigman) Martin |relatives = Joseph Martin (uncle) |alma_mater = University of Wisconsin–Madison Notre Dame Law School |allegiance = United States |branch = United States Army American Expeditionary Forces |serviceyears = 1917–1921 |rank = [[File:US-O3_insignia.svg|22px]] Captain |unit = 127th Infantry Reg., 32nd Div. |commands = |battles = World War I |mawards = [[File:Purple_Heart_ribbon.svg|border|23px]] Purple Heart |footnotes =

John Edward Martin, Sr., (November 15, 1891 – December 9, 1968) was an American politician and jurist from Wisconsin. He was the 16th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and 29th Attorney General of Wisconsin.

Early life and education

Born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Mary Ellen Wigman Martin and Patrick Henry Martin. A Roman Catholic, he was educated at parochial and public schools in Green Bay, graduating from Green Bay East High School in 1909. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Marquette University, and graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1916 to become a practicing attorney.

World War I

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1917, and was commissioned a lieutenant after attending officer training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He fought in World War I as a first lieutenant in Company E, 127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division. He was wounded during the war, and awarded a Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 1921. During the war, he served alongside future Wisconsin Supreme Court justices Theodore G. Lewis, Edward J. Gehl, and Roland J. Steinle.

Public office

After the war, Martin returned to Green Bay and practiced law, partnering with his father and his uncle, Joseph Martin, who would also later serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In 1933, John was appointed an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee.

In 1938, Martin was elected Wisconsin Attorney General, defeating incumbent Progressive Orland Steen Loomis. He would go on to serve nearly a decade in that office, earning re-election in 1940, 1942, 1944, and 1946.

In June, 1948, he was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor Oscar Rennebohm to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Chester A. Fowler. Martin was elected in 1950 to complete the remainder of Fowler's term, and was elected to a full term in 1951. He became chief justice in 1957 upon the retirement of Chief Justice Edward T. Fairchild. In 1961, Martin was the first Wisconsinite to serve as chair of the National Conference of Chief Justices. Martin did not seek re-election in 1961, and his term expired January 1962. However, after his term, he was appointed the first court administrator of Wisconsin.

He retired due to poor health in 1967.

Personal life and family

Martin was married to Mary Kerwin; they had two children, John Jr. and Mary Hope.

Martin died December 9, 1968, in Madison, Wisconsin. He was buried at Resurrection Cemetery, in northwest Madison.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Attorney General (1938-1946)

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1950, 1951)

|party = Nonpartisan politician |candidate = John E. Martin (incumbent) |votes = 300,476 |percentage = 58.89 |change = }} |party = Nonpartisan politician |candidate = Marshall Peterson |votes = 209,720 |percentage = 41.11 |change = }} |votes = 510,196 |percentage = 100 |change = |party = Nonpartisan politician |candidate = John E. Martin (incumbent) |votes = 515,599 |percentage = 100 |change = }} |votes = 515,599 |percentage = 100 |change =

Notes

References

(December 10, 1968). "Former Chief Justice of State Court Dies". The La Crosse Tribune.
(March 7, 2012). "John E. Martin (1891-1968)". Wisconsin Courts System.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100609123847/http://www.wicourts.gov/about/judges/supreme/retired/martin2.htm Chief Justice John E. Martin], Wisconsin Supreme Court
link. (2016-03-03 . Wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved on 2016-01-22.)
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1940". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1940". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1942". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1942". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1944". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1944". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1946". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1946". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1948". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1948". State of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1952". State of Wisconsin.

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