Martin Jenkins

Martin J. Jenkins (born 1954) is a justice of the California Court of Appeal for the First District, located in San Francisco, and a former federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Early life
Jenkins was born in San Francisco and raised in the neighborhood of Ingleside. He earned an Associate of Arts degree from City College of San Francisco, then graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After college, Jenkins briefly played professional football for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. Jenkins then attended the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor with honors.

Jenkins worked as a prosecutor in Alameda County, California from 1981 to 1983, and for the United States Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division from 1983 to 1985. In 1985, Jenkins moved back to the Bay Area when his mother became ill, then served as in-house counsel for Pacific Bell for four years.

Judicial service
A Democrat, Jenkins was appointed to the Alameda County Municipal Court by Republican Governor George Deukmejian in 1989. In 1992, Republican Governor Pete Wilson appointed him to the Alameda County Superior Court.

President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed Jenkins to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in 1997.

In August 2007, Jenkins asked Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to consider him for a seat on the California Court of Appeal. On January 25, 2008, Schwarzenegger nominated Jenkins to fill the vacancy on the First District Court of Appeal created by the retirement of Justice Joanne C. Parrilli. Jenkins was confirmed on April 4, 2008.

Jenkins's contribution to American law includes the well-known principle of Jenkins-Laporte Doctrine, which defines the boundary of copyright and contractual right.