and Martin Thomas Manton in 1915 at the
Becker-Rosenthal trial in
New York City , Martin Thomas Manton, and
William Bourke Cockran Manton was nominated by President
Woodrow Wilson on August 15, 1916, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge
Charles Merrill Hough.
Notable cases During the 1930s, Manton's seniority made him the Senior Circuit Judge of the Court (the rough equivalent of the
Chief Judge position today). He wrote a memorable dissenting opinion in the
obscenity litigation instigated by
Bennett Cerf concerning the book
Ulysses by
James Joyce,
United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses,
72 F.2d 705 (
2d Cir. 1934). Judges
Learned Hand and
Augustus Noble Hand decided that the book was not obscene, but Manton voted to ban it. Manton was also involved in a series of controversial decisions concerning control and financing of the companies then operating the
New York City Subway. Manton was sentenced to two years in
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and served 17 months. ==Death==