The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that Cook County Circuit Judge LeRoy K. Martin, Jr. has been assigned to the Illinois Appellate Court, First Judicial District.  Judge Martin will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Justice Robert E. Gordon to the Appellate Court of Illinois effective December 7, 2020.  Justice Gordon is filling the vacancy of Justice Shelvin Louise Marie Hall and his appointment is through December 5, 2022.  Judge Martin will occupy the rotation position of Justice Hall in the Fourth Division of the First District and will be assigned Justice Hall’s cases.

Judge Martin earned his Bachelor of Arts from DePaul University and his Juris Doctor from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.  Judge Martin served as a Cook County Public Defender from 1985 to 1987, then engaged in private practice for 15 years.  Judge Martin was first appointed to the bench in 2002, serving in the Chancery Division and, since 2015, as the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division. 

Judge Martin has been appointed to several Illinois Supreme Court committees, including the Civil Justice Committee.  He has presented at New Judges School and the Judicial Education Conference.  He was the 2016 recipient of the Earl B. Dickerson Award.  He taught trial practice at the Loyola University School of Law in 2012 and 2014.