Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States federal judge in New York City, who resigned and served time in prison for accepting bribes while in office. In 1916 he was the youngest federal judge in the United States.

Early life
He was born on August 2, 1880. Manton graduated from Columbia Law School in 1901 and worked as a lawyer in private practice in Manhattan for 15 years. In 1915 he was the lawyer for Charles Becker in the Rosenthal murder trial.

Judicial career
District Judge
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson named Manton as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Circuit Judge
After two years on the District Court, in 1918 Manton was promoted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the federal appeals court for New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. Manton continued to serve on the Second Circuit, which during that era was one of the most distinguished courts in American history, including judges such as Learned Hand, Augustus Hand, Charles Merrill Hough, and Thomas Walter Swan.

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 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.

Bribery conviction
Manton suffered severe financial reverses during the Great Depression and began to accept gifts and loans from persons having business before his court, some of which constituted outright bribes for selling his vote in pending patent litigations. Rumors of corruption spread and in 1939, Manton resigned under pressure of investigations by Manhattan District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey, who wrote a letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee recommending impeachment proceedings, and by a federal grand jury.

Source @ Wikipedia