William J. Martini

Infobox_Congressman
name = Bill Martini


date of birth = birth date and age|1947|1|10
place of birth = Passaic, New Jersey
state = New Jersey
district = 8th
term_start = January 3, 1995
term_end = January 3, 1997
preceded = Herbert Klein
succeeded = Bill Pascrell
party = Republican
spouse =
children =
religion =

William J. "Bill" Martini (born January 10, 1947 in Passaic, New Jersey) is a current United States district court judge. Before his judicial service, Martini was a Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district ( [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/nj08_109.gifmap] ) in the House of Representatives, where he served from January 3, 1995–January 3, 1997.

Martini graduated from Passaic High School, Villanova University in Philadelphia, and received his law degree from Rutgers School of Law—Newark in 1972.

Martini started his career as an assistant in the Hudson County prosecutor's office in 1973. The following year, he was named an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and served in that post until 1977. He went into private practice after that.

Martini would eventually land in Passaic County again, and won election to the city council in Clifton, New Jersey in 1990. He would add a position on the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1992. [Barry, Jan. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22651877.html "PASSAIC COUNTY GOP TIGHTENS GRIP"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 4, 1992. Accessed August 9, 2008.]

In 1994, the Republican Party nominated Martini for Congress in New Jersey's 8th congressional district. He faced off against one-term incumbent Herbert Klein, who had fallen out of favor with the voters. Riding that, plus the wave of the 1994 Republican Revolution's disillusion with the Democratic Party, Martini defeated Klein and took one of the 54 seats in the House of Representatives the Republicans gained that year. [Voreacos, David. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22560992.html "MARTINI EDGES KLEIN IN RACE FOR 8TH DISTRICT"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 9, 1994. Accessed August 9, 2008.] In addition, he was the first Republican to win an election in the district since Gordon Canfield won his last re-election bid in 1958.

Martini was defeated for re-election in 1996 by Paterson mayor Bill Pascrell, and was one of eight Republican Representatives elected in the 1994 Republican Revolution to be defeated in their re-election bids. [Goodnough, Abby. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E5D61038F935A35752C1A960958260 " Democrats Pick Up Seat as Pascrell Defeats Martini in Expensive Eighth District Race"] , "The New York Times", November 6, 1996. Accessed August 9, 2008.] He has not run for political office since then.

In 1999, the Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman named Martini to the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a post in which he served for three years. [ [http://www.panynj.biz/pr/3-99.html "WILLIAM J. MARTINI SWORN IN AS COMMISSIONER OF THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY"] , Port Authority of New York and New Jersey press release dated January 13, 1999. Accessed August 9, 2008.]

On January 23, 2002, Martini was nominated to serve as a judge in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by President Bush. The Senate confirmed him, and on November 19, 2002, he took his seat on the bench. Martini was one of five New Jersey district court judges to be confirmed in 2002, and is one of 24 judges currently sitting on the district court.

Martini came under fire for his sentencing decision in the corruption case involving former Newark mayor Sharpe James which he presided over. Martini sentenced James to 27 months in prison while state and federal prosecutors wanted the maximum allowable sentence of 15 to 20 years although federal guidelines would only allow a 5 to 12 year potential sentence. Martini said that James' years as a public servant played a role in his decision, but would not discuss the case further. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie announced that he would appeal Martini's sentence. [Cunningham, Jennifer H. [http://myheraldnews.com/view.html?type=stories&action=detail&sub_id=41095 "Judge defends James sentencing"] , "Herald News", August 6, 2008. Accessed August 9, 2008.]

Electoral history

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
+ ushr|New Jersey|8|: Results 1994–1996cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html |title=Election Statistics |accessdate=2007-08-08 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives ] !|Year!!|Democrat!|Votes!|Pct!!|Republican!|Votes!|Pct!!|3rd Party!|Party!|Votes!|Pct!
-
1994|
Party shading/Democratic |Herb Klein
Party shading/Democratic align="right" |68,661
Party shading/Democratic |49%|
Party shading/Republican |nowrap|William J. Martini
Party shading/Republican align="right" |70,494
Party shading/Republican |50%|
Party shading/Independent |Bernard George
Party shading/Independent |Conservative
Party shading/Independent align="right" |2,213
Party shading/Independent align="right" |2%|
-
1996|
Party shading/Democratic |nowrap|William J. Pascrell, Jr.
Party shading/Democratic align="right" |98,861
Party shading/Democratic |51%|
Party shading/Republican |William J. Martini
Party shading/Republican align="right" |92,609
Party shading/Republican |48%|
Party shading/Independent |Jeffrey M. Levine
Party shading/Independent |Independent
Party shading/Independent align="right" |1,621
Party shading/Independent align="right" |1%|
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

References

External links

*CongLinks|congbio=M000207
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/martiniresume.htm Department of Justice resume]
* [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2964 Federal Judicial Center biography]