{{Short description|American judge}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Martin Ferdinand Morris | honorific_suffix = | image = Martin Ferdinand Morris.jpg | alt = | caption = | office1 = Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia | term_start1 = April 15, 1893 | term_end1 = June 30, 1905 | nominator = | appointer1 = Grover Cleveland | predecessor1 = ''Seat established by 27 Stat. 434'' | successor1 = Louis E. McComas | office2 = Dean of Georgetown University Law Center | term_start2 = 1891 | term_end2 = 1896 | predecessor2 = Charles W. Hoffman | successor2 = Jeremiah M. Wilson | pronunciation = | birth_name = Martin Ferdinand Morris | birth_date = {{Birth date|1834|12|03}} | birth_place = Youghal, Ireland | death_date = {{Death date and age|1909|09|12|1834|12|03}} | death_place = Washington, D.C. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = Georgetown University<br>read law | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Martin Ferdinand Morris''' (December 3, 1834 – September 12, 1909) was an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

==Education and career==

Born December 3, 1834, in Washington D.C., of Irish Catholic descent,<ref name="auto1">{{Catholic|prescript=|wstitle=Martin Ferdinand Morris}}</ref> Morris graduated from Georgetown University in 1854.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|1695|nid=1385391|name=Martin Ferdinand Morris<!--(1834–1909)-->}}</ref> On leaving Georgetown, Morris entered the Jesuit novitiate at Frederick, Maryland, to prepare himself for the Catholic priesthood.<ref name="auto1"/> However, the death of his father left him the sole support of his mother and sisters and he thereafter pursued the study of law.<ref name="auto1"/> He read law in 1863 and subsequently entered private practice in Baltimore, Maryland from 1864 to 1867.<ref name="auto"/> He continued private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1867 to 1893.<ref name="auto"/> He was, including concurrently with his later federal judicial service, a Professor at Georgetown Law from 1876 to 1909, serving as Dean of that institution from 1891 to 1896.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ernst |first1=Daniel R. |title=The First 125 Years: An Illustrated History of the Georgetown University Law Center |date=1995 |publisher=Georgetown University Law Center |isbn=978-0964918207 |page=14 |url=https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/1043490}}</ref> Morris was one of the founders of Georgetown Law in 1870, alongside Charles W. Hoffman, Hubley Ashton, and Charles James.

==Federal judicial service==

Morris was nominated by President Grover Cleveland on April 14, 1893, to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia (now the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit), to a new Associate Justice seat authorized by 27 Stat. 434.<ref name="auto"/> He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 15, 1893, and received his commission the same day.<ref name="auto"/> His service terminated on June 30, 1905, due to his retirement.<ref name="auto"/>

==Honor==

Morris received the honorary degree Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Georgetown University in 1877.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Publication==

Morris wrote "Lectures on the History of the Development of Constitutional and Civil Liberty" in 1908.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Death==

Morris died on September 12, 1909, in Washington, D.C.<ref name="auto"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{Catholic|wstitle=Martin Ferdinand Morris}} * {{FJC Bio|1695|nid=1385391|name=Martin Ferdinand Morris<!--(1834–1909)-->}}

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 27 Stat. 434}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia}}|years=1893–1905}} {{s-aft|after=Louis E. McComas}} {{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Martin Ferdinand}} Category:1834 births Category:1909 deaths Category:Georgetown University alumni Category:Maryland lawyers Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Category:Irish emigrants to the United States Category:United States federal judges appointed by Grover Cleveland Category:20th-century American judges Category:Deans of Georgetown University Law Center