Martin Feldman
Martin Leach-Cross Feldman was afederal judge for theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He joined the court in 1983 after being nominated by PresidentRonald Reagan (R). Feldman's service ended upon his death on January 26, 2022.[1]
Feldman also served on theUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from May 19, 2010, until May 18, 2017.[2]
Biography
Early life and education
A native ofSt. Louis, Missouri, Feldman graduated from Tulane University with his bachelor's degree in 1955 and hisJ.D. in 1957.[3]
Military service
Feldman served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1957 to 1963, attaining the rank of captain.[3]
Professional career
- 1983-2022: Judge,United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- 1959-1983: Private practice,New Orleans, La.
- 1957-1959: Law clerk, Hon.John Minor Wisdom,United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit[3]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Louisiana
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Martin L.C. Feldman |
| Court:United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 22 days after nomination. |
 ANominated: September 12, 1983 |
 AABA Rating: |
| Questionnaire: |
| AHearing: September 28, 1983 |
| QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| AReported: September 30, 1983 |
| AConfirmed: October 4, 1983 |
| AVote: Voice vote |
Feldman was nominated to theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by PresidentRonald Reagan on September 9, 1983, to a seat vacated by JudgeJack M. Gordon. Hearings on Feldman's nomination were held before theSenate Judiciary Committee on September 28, 1983, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) on September 30, 1983. Feldman was confirmed on a voice vote of theU.S. Senate on October 4, 1983, and he received his commission the next day.[3][4]
Noteworthy cases
4 Aces Enterprises, LLC v. Edwards (2020)
4 Aces Enterprises, LLC v. Edwards: On August 17, 2020, JudgeMartin Feldman, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, rejected a request by several New Orleans and Houma bar owners to declare Gov. John Bel Edwards’ (D) order closing bars in response to the COVID-19 pandemic unconstitutional. In their complaint, the bar owners challenged sections of Proclamations 89 JBE 2020 and 96 JBE 2020, arguing that the orders unconstitutionally failed to provide a rational basis for distinguishing between bars—which were shuttered—and restaurants that have bars within them, which were allowed to reopen. The bar owners alleged that the orders represented violations of due process, equal protection, and freedom from unlawful takings, under both the U.S. and Louisiana constitutions. In his order, Feldman, an appointee of Ronald Reagan (R), wrote, "Between democratically accountable state officials and a federal court, who decides what measures best protect Louisianans during a global pandemic? The answer is state officials." As a result, Feldman wrote, "the Court is compelled to conclude that Governor Edwards’ ban of on-site consumption of food or drinks at 'bars' bears a 'real or substantial relation' to the goal of slowing the spread of COVID-19 and is not 'beyond all question' a violation of the bar owners’ constitutional rights." Reacting to the decision, Gov. Edwards released a statement: "I am pleased that Judge Feldman upheld bar restrictions, which is one of the critical mitigation measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Louisiana to protect and save lives." On August 18, 2020, the bar owners filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[5][6][7][8]
Upholding of Louisiana's same-sex marriage ban (2014)
JudgeMartin Feldman was the presiding judge in the case ofRobicheaux v. Caldwell. On September 3, 2014, Feldman ruled thatLouisiana's ban on same-sex marriage was constitutional. The judge found that public opinion does not establish a fundamental right to same-sex marriage. He went on to dismiss the argument that the law violated the Equal Protection clause of theFourteenth Amendment. He stated:
| “ | Even ignoring the obvious difference between this case andLoving, no analogy can defeat the plain reality that Louisiana's laws apply evenhandedly to both genders--whether between two men or two women.[9][10] | ” |
Feldman drew heavily on tradition in his ruling, often referring to the definition of marriage as thousands of years old and the idea of same-sex marriage cannot be considered a fundamental right due to its relative newness.[11]
See also
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- Judge Feldman's Biography from theFederal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑Nola.com, "Martin Feldman, federal judge based in New Orleans, dies at 87," January 26, 2022
- ↑Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, "Current Judges of the FISC," accessed May 11, 2017
- ↑3.03.13.23.3Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Martin Leach-Cross Feldman," accessed May 12, 2017
- ↑United States Congress, "PN 451 — Martin L. C. Feldman — The Judiciary," accessed May 12, 2017
- ↑United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, "4 Aces Enterprises, LLC v. Edwards: Order and Reasons," August 17, 2020
- ↑United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, "4 Aces Enterprises, LLC v. Edwards: Complaint," July 30, 2020
- ↑Office of the Governor of Louisiana, "Gov. Edwards' Statement on the Upholding of Restrictions on Bars by the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana," August 17, 2020
- ↑United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, "4 Aces Enterprises, LLC v. Edwards: Notice of Expedited Appeal to the Fifth Circuit," August 18, 2020
- ↑Nola.com, "Robicheaux v. Caldwell," accessed September 8, 2014
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑The Raw Story, "Fed. judge upholds ban on gay marriage while sneering at other courts as ‘pageant of empathy’," September 3, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - | United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana 1983-2022 | Succeeded by Brandon Long |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges | Chief Judge: Timothy DeGiusti • George Singal • Sara Lioi • Joan Ericksen • Kenneth Karas • Robert Kugler • Anthony Trenga • Louis Guirola • Karin J. Immergut • Amit Priyavadan Mehta | ||
| Former judges | James Zagel • Jennifer Coffman • Thomas Russell • Dennis Saylor • Raymond Dearie • Robert Kugler • Mary McLaughlin • Claire Eagan • Anne Conway • Clyde Roger Vinson • William Stafford • Liam O'Grady • James Jones (Federal judge) • Malcolm Howard • Martin Feldman • Michael Mosman • Thomas Hogan • Rosemary Collyer • Reggie Walton • John Bates • Susan Webber Wright • James E. Boasberg • Rudolph Contreras • John Tharp, Jr. • | ||
| Former chief judges | |||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Bartlett •Beam •Becker •Bork •Cacheris •Cardamone •Chapman •Coughenour •Cox •Crow •Cyr •Doumar •Eschbach •Forrester •Garwood •Gibson •Glasser •Hall •Hamilton •Head •Jones •Kiser •Krenzler •Lee •Magnuson •McLaughlin •Miner •Moore •Nowlin •O'Connor •Pierce •Posner •Potter •Russell •Ryan •Shabaz •Sprizzo •Stevens •Waters •Wilhoit •Wilkins •Winter | ||
| 1982 | Acker •Acosta •Altimari •Bell •Bissell •Black •Bullock •Caldwell •Coffey •Contie •Coyle •Dowd •Fagg •Fong •Fox •Gadbois •Gibson •Ginsburg •Hart •Higginbotham •Hogan •Irving •Jackson •Jolly •Kanne •Kovachevich •Krupansky •Lynch •Mansmann •McNamara •Mencer •Mentz •Mihm •Moody •Nordberg •Paul •Pieras •Plunkett •Porfilio •Potter •Pratt •Rafeedie •Restani •Roberts •Scalia •Selya •Telesca •Wellford | ||
| 1983 | Baldock •Barbour •Barry •Bowman •Carman •Carter •Curran •Davis •Dorsey •Feldman •Fish •Flaum •Gibbons •Hallanan •Harris •Hinojosa •Hull •Hupp •Katz •Keenan •Kelly •Kram •Laffitte •Limbaugh, Sr. •Limbaugh, Sr. •Milburn •Nesbitt •Nevas •O'Neill •Rymer •Sharp •Starr •Vinson •Vukasin •Wexler • Woods | ||
| 1984 | Barker •Beezer •Biggers •Billings •Bissell •Boyle •Brewster •Browning •DiCarlo •Duhe •Garcia •George •Hall •Hargrove •Higgins •Hill •Holland •Ideman •Jarvis •Keller •Leavy •Lee •Legge •Leisure •Little •Livaudais •Longobardi •McKibben •Milburn •Newman •Norgle •Prado •Rea •Rosenblatt •Rovner •Scirica •Smith, Jr. •Sneeden •Stotler •Suhrheinrich •Torruella •Wiggins •Wilkinson | ||
| 1985 | Alley •Altimari •Anderson •Aquilino •Archer •Arnold •Baldock •Batchelder •Battey •Broomfield •Brown •Brown •Brunetti •Buckley •Cobb •Conmy •Cowen •Davidson •Dimmick •Duff •Easterbrook •Edgar •Farnan •Fernandez •Fitzpatrick •Fuste •Greene •Gunn •Guy •Hall •Hilton •Holderman •Hughes •Johnson •Jones •Korman •Kozinski •La Plata •Leinenweber •Letts •Lovell •Ludwig •Maloney •Mansmann •Marcus •McDonald •Meredith •Miller •Mills •Miner •Motz •Nelson •Noonan •Porfilio •Revercomb •Rhoades •Ripple •Rodriguez •Rosenbaum •Roth •Ryan •Sam •Scott •Sentelle •Silberman •Sporkin •Stanton •Stapleton •Strand •Strom •Tacha •Tevrizian •Thompson •Todd •Tsoucalas •Walker •Walter •Weber •Williams •Wilson •Wingate •Wolf •Wollman •Young •Zloch | ||
| 1986 | Anderson •Boggs •Bryan •Cedarbaum •Cholakis •Conway •Davies •Dearie •Dubina •Duggan •Edmondson •Fawsett •Fitzwater •Gex •Graham •Hackett •Hansen •Henderson •Hittner •Howard •Jensen •Kay •Kleinfeld •Kosik •Lagueux •Lechner •Magill •Mahoney •Manion •McAvoy •McQuade •Norris •O'Scannlain •Rehnquist •Ryskamp •Scalia •Selya •Simpson •Smalkin •Spencer •Stiehl •Wilkins •Williams •Woodlock •Zatkoff | ||
| 1987 | Alesia •Beam •Bell •Conboy •Cowen •Cummings •Daronco •Doty •Dwyer •Ebel •Ellis •Gadola •Gawthrop •Greenberg •Harrington •Howard •Hoyt •Hutchinson •Kanne •Kelly •Larimer •Leavy •Lew •Marsh •Mayer •McKinney •Michel •Mukasey •Musgrave •Niemeyer •Parker •Phillips •Politan •Pro •Raggi •Reasoner •Reed •Scirica •Sentelle • Smith •Smith •Stadtmueller •Standish •Tinder •Torres •Trott •Turner •Van Antwerpen •Voorhees •Webb •Whipple •Wolin •Wolle •Wood •Zagel | ||
| 1988 | Arcara •Babcock •Brorby •Butler •Cambridge •Camp •Conlon •Cox •Dubois •Duhe •Ezra •Forester •Friedman •Garza •Hutton •Jordan •Kennedy •Lake •Lamberth •Lifland •Lozano •Marovich •Nygaard •Patterson •Schell •Smith •Smith •Tilley •Waldman •Zilly | ||
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- Appointed by Ronald Reagan
- Confirmed 1983
- Federal Article III judges
- Federal judiciary nominee, September 1983
- Former federal judge
- Former federal judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- Louisiana
- Noteworthy case
- Former federal judge, Eastern District of Louisiana
- Former federal judge, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
- Army veteran
- Former Article I judges
