Martin, Luther (c. 1748-1826)

US lawyer. He served as attorney general of Maryland (1778-1805 and 1818-22) and as a delegate from Maryland to the Continental Congress (from 1785). He went to the Constitutional Convention in 1789, but as an opponent of a strong central government, he left the convention and then unsuccessfully tried to prevent Maryland from ratifying the new constitution. He got into a legal quarrel with Thomas Jefferson and went over to the Federalist Party, helping Justice Samuel Chase in his impeachment trial of 1804 and Aaron Burr in his treason trial of 1807.

Martin was born in New Brunswick, New York. After graduating from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in 1766, he worked as a teacher while reading law, eventually being admitted to the Virginia bar in 1771. His final years were marked by family problems, his own health problems, and his alcoholism; he ended up destitute and living with his former client, Aaron Burr.