HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) – The somewhat controversial appointment of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin as the founding dean of High Point University’s planned law school isn’t going to slide into a quiet shadow.
Carolina Forward, a progressive activist organization based in Carrboro, announced Wednesday that it had leased a billboard along I-74 near HPU to call for the university to reconsider its decision.
Martin, who served on the state Supreme Court from 2014 to 2019, was named June 7 as the first dean of the law school that HPU plans to open, but it is his apparent connection to former President Trump and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that has brought questions about that decision.
Both The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that Martin was among the persons Trump called for counsel on Jan. 6 during the riot by his supporters to upend the congressional certification of the election of President Joe Biden. Those rioters believed Trump’s unfounded claims that election fraud had caused his defeat and violently sought to stop House and Senate from fulfilling their constitutional obligation.
Martin’s connections to Trump inspired Carolina Forward to employ the billboard in “urging university leaders, faculty, staff, students and the general public to just say no to Mark Martin. … He should no longer practice law in the State of North Carolina – let alone guide legal education here. Please join us in respectfully urging High Point University President Nido Qubein and the university board to rescind Martin’s appointment as law school dean.”
High Point University had not mentioned Martin’s connection to the reporting about Jan. 6 until WGHP brought the matter to the public’s attention on June 7. Spokesperson Allison Lightner said at that time that HPU appreciated many in the legal community who had expressed support for Martin and that “speculation about what may have happened between a lawyer and a client is just that – speculation.”
But in a statement released about the billboard to The High Point Enterprise, which first reported its presence, HPU’s words suggest the university has examined the issue more closely since the announcement was made.
“Chief Justice Martin assured HPU that he was not retained as a lawyer by anyone in connection with the 2020 presidential election process,” the statement said. “Based on HPU’s understanding of all the information available and our candid and open conversations with Chief Justice Martin, we believe that he has done nothing wrong.”
WGHP has asked for an interview with Martin, who has not responded to questions from media outlets seeking his comment on the reports about Jan. 6.
WGHP also emailed questions to Lightner to ask about what had happened to change HPU’s position that Martin’s role on Jan. 6 was “speculation” to “he has done nothing wrong.” There was no immediate response.
No report had suggested that Martin had been hired by Trump or anyone associated with his effort to overturn the election, but the Times did report that Martin was the author of a lawsuit in Texas that was used to that end.
The investigation by the Select Committee to Investigate Jan. 6th Attack on the Capitol has not mentioned during public hearings any role Martin might have played, unlike reports about attorneys such as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman or UNC alum Sidney Powell.
The back story
The Times reported that Martin, at the time dean of the Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia – where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. is among the guest lecturers – was part of a “team of lawyers with close ties to the Trump campaign” and to being part of two controversial legal maneuvers that Trump employed.
First, the Times reported, Martin was an author of the lawsuit in Texas that attempted to overturn Biden’s electoral victories in Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. That suit was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, the Times said, Martin reportedly advocated for what has become a pivotal issue in the run-up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021: that Vice President Mike Pence could reject any state election returns and set aside the electoral votes.
Martin’s name also is listed on the White House’s call log for Jan. 6, The Washington Post reported in March. The report cited that Trump asked for the call to Martin, which was made at 7:30 p.m. Martin was known to be a friend of then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who is a former member of Congress from North Carolina.
In the in-depth report of the back story behind Trump’s maneuvering on and around Jan. 6, 2021, the Times said Martin worked behind the scenes in drafting legal opinions to support Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud.
Perspective on his role
Former colleagues such as retired state Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr and former Chief Justice Burley Mitchell have said that even if you disagree with Martin’s opinions, that doesn’t mean he did anything illegal or unethical.
Rich Eisen, an expert on law and legal corruption at the Brookings Institution – and one of the authors of the “Trump On Trial” report issued this week – told The News & Observer in Raleigh last year that Martin’s actions, as described in the Times’ report, should be subject to legal review.
“All the lawyers who whipped up Trump’s followers into a frenzy based on the completely baseless belief that the election had been stolen must bear a share of the responsibility for what happened on Jan. 6,” Eisen, a special counsel in Trump’s first impeachment, told the N&O.
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