 He was sworn in as the Northern Territory's fifth Chief Justice on 27 January 2004 following the retirement of Brian Frank Martin; and held the position until 2010.Justice Martin was the trial judge for the trial of R v Murdoch, which commenced with a voir dire in April 2005 and the trial proper began on 17 October 2005, and was completed with a verdict of guilty on 13 December 2005.He also presided over the Snowtown murder cases involving the conviction of John Bunting, Robert Wagner, and James Vlassakis for murder, and Mark Haydon for helping to dispose of the bodies.