The Hon. G Arthur Martin

This interview with Mr. Justice G. Arthur Martin covers his remarkable legal career from his early life in Huntsville, Ontario in 1913 through his distinguished academic and professional achievements. Born during the Depression era, Martin excelled academically at the University of Toronto’s Honour Course in Law (1931-1935) where he won the gold medal, and later at Osgoode Hall Law School (1935-1938) where he came first in all three years. He articled at Gordon, Mortimer, Kennedy & Doherty during the Depression, gaining experience in real estate, foreclosures, and early legal aid work.

Martin’s career encompassed both academia and practice, serving as a teacher at Osgoode Hall Law School for 25 years until the school moved to York University in the 1960s. He became a Bencher in 1956 and worked as associate editor of Canadian Criminal Cases. The interview details his involvement in several significant criminal cases from the late 1940s and early 1950s, including the high-profile Bohozuk case connected to the Evelyn Dick murder trial, and the groundbreaking Gibbons case involving an insanity defense. His contributions to legal education included teaching at the Ontario Police Training School and developing refresher courses for lawyers returning from World War II, establishing him as a significant figure in mid-20th century Canadian legal education and criminal law practice.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.