Justice Martin N. Buchanan

If anyone wants to know what it is like to serve in the San Diego appellate community from various perspectives, they would be wise to ask Justice Martin N. Buchanan. He previously worked as an appellate lawyer in various areas of law, and in May 2022, he was appointed as an Associate Justice to Division One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal. Justice Buchanan was Governor Newsom’s first direct appointment to the Court of Appeal from private practice.

His path to San Diego started in Lillooet, B.C., Canada, where he was born. He best recalls his teenage years growing up in Portland, Oregon. The Portland he remembers was a sleepy town with a small downtown and a lush natural habitat that started his lifelong love of the outdoors.

After graduating from Harvard Law School and clerking for a federal judge, Justice Buchanan worked briefly as a civil rights lawyer in Oakland, California, mostly in employment discrimination. Within the first six months he was assigned to an appeal, and he loved it. He switched his focus from trials to appellate work, and he eventually had his own firm that handled appeals and writs. He also held many roles with Appellate Defenders, Inc. (“ADI”) starting there as a staff attorney and then working on the ADI panel representing indigent clients in criminal appeals. Justice Buchanan was also on ADI’s Board of Directors and served on several other nonprofit boards. As an appellate attorney, he was one of a small group of attorneys to have ever appeared before the United States Supreme Court. Justice Buchanan has been a dedicated member of the San Diego Appellate Inn of Court since its inception in 2017, initially as a Master and now a Judicial Master.

Before transitioning from criminal to primarily civil appeals, Justice Buchanan served as a research attorney for now-retired Justice Cynthia G. Aaron.  When he was appointed to the bench 20 years later, he started off in the same chambers where he had once worked as a research attorney.  Justice Buchanan had the honor of serving with Justice Aaron briefly before she retired.

His appreciation of nature seems a key ingredient in the recipe for his successful appellate career. During the pandemic, he started photographing local birds. It became a great way for him to see the beautiful nature all around San Diego. Since 2022, when he moved behind the bench, he has authored multiple published opinions. He continues make time to get outside, and he enjoys cycling, tennis, birding, and spending time with his family.