Martin Thomas Manton

Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. At his 1939 trial, Manton was acquitted of bribery, but convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He served 19 months in federal prison.

Education and career

Born on August 2, 1880, in New York City, New York, Manton received a Bachelor of Laws in 1901 from Columbia Law School.

Notable client In 1915, Manton was attorney for Charles Becker, the New York City police officer who was convicted and executed in the Rosenthal murder trial.

Federal judicial service H. T. Marshall and Martin Thomas Manton in 1915 at the Becker-Rosenthal trial in New York City H. T. Marshall, Martin Thomas Manton, and William Bourke Cockran Manton was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on August 15, 1916, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge Charles Merrill Hough.

Notable cases

During the 1930s, Manton's seniority made him the Senior Circuit Judge of the Court (the rough equivalent of the Chief Judge position today). He wrote a memorable dissenting opinion in the obscenity litigation instigated by Bennett Cerf concerning the book Ulysses by James Joyce, United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses, 72 F.2d 705 (2d Cir. 1934). Judges Learned Hand and Augustus Noble Hand decided that the book was not obscene, but Manton voted to ban it. Manton was also involved in a series of controversial decisions concerning control and financing of the companies then operating the New York City Subway. Manton was sentenced to two years in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and served 17 months.

Legacy

The 1940 Pulitzer Prize for reporting was awarded to S. Burton Heath for his coverage of the Manton trial for the New York World-Telegram.