6th Circuit Court of Appeals judge Boyce Martin has died. Martin was known for his rulings on cases involving affirmative action and the Affordable Care Act.
Martin presided in the first appeals court decision that affirmed the Affordable Care Act and another case that permitted University of Michigan’s law school to use race as a factor in selecting students.
He also strongly opposed the death penalty.
University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias was a friend of Martin’s, and recalls his strong views on the death penalty. “He was very much opposed to capital punishment because I think he believed that it did not work in a fair manner. And so he often dissented in matters involving capital punishment," Tobias said.
As an assistant U.S. Attorney in New York, he prosecuted Mafia cases, including one that led to the conviction of Gambino crime boss John Gotti.
Martin was the first chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He was appointed to the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
Martin lived in Louisville, he was 80 years old.
