Ricardo S. Martinez

Ricardo Salazar Martinez
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Assumed office
February 6, 2016
Preceded by Marsha J. Pechman
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Assumed office
June 16, 2004
Appointed by George W. Bush
Preceded by New seat
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
In office
1998–2004
Judge of the King County Superior Court
In office
1990–1998
Personal details
Born 1951 (age 6465)
Mercedes, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater University of Washington

Ricardo Salazar Martinez (born 1951) is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Early life and education

Martinez was born in Mercedes, Texas and raised in Whatcom County, Washington where he graduated from Lynden High School.[1] He received a B.S. from the University of Washington in 1975 and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1980. He was an Assistant Prosecutor with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in King County, Washington from 1980 to 1990.

Judicial service

Martinez was a judge on the King County Superior Court from 1990 to 1998. From 1998 to 2004, he served as a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

On October 14, 2003, Martinez was nominated by President George W. Bush to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Martinez was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 15, 2004, receiving his commission on June 16, 2004. He is the first Latino judge in the Western District of Washington. He became Chief Judge on February 6, 2016.

Notable Cases

Backpage.com, an online escort service, filed a lawsuit against Washington State to prevent a law that would require companies to verify the ages of people in sex-related advertisements. The online escort service claimed, "Backpage and Internet Archive argue the new law violates the Communications Decency Act of 1996, as well as the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments and the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution."[2] On 28 July 2012, Judge Martinez granted an injunction preventing the law from taking effect. In his ruling, Martinez found merit in some of Backpage.com's arguments that the state law would conflict with existing federal law.[3]

References

Legal offices
Preceded by
Marsha J. Pechman
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
2016–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
new seat
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
2004–present
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.