One Feather: Judge Matthew Martin retires from tribal court

Tuesday, February 12, 2013  

"Judge Matthew Martin served as an Associate Judge in the Cherokee Tribal Court for close to 11 years. Starting in April 2002, he presided over thousands of cases. He officially retired from the court and was honored at a reception on Monday, Feb. 11.

“Nobody here owes me a debt of gratitude, I owe you a debt of gratitude because I am a better person today than I was on April 11, 2002,” Martin told the group at Monday’s event. “That’s because of my association with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the lawyers and the professionals that serve this Tribe.”

He went on to say, “One-hundred and ninety-seven (197) years ago, the Cherokee people invented the tribal court. The Supreme Court of North Carolina is only four years older than the first tribal court in this country. One hundred years from now, this court will still be in existence, and our grandchildren will look back on what we have done, and I hope that they will be very pleased and very proud in what we have created.”"

Get the Story:
Judge Martin retires from Cherokee Tribal Court (The Cherokee One Feather 2/12)