The charges laid against Martin included that he had corruptly used his office to receive gifts of money from attorneys who appeared in cases before him, and that he had serious defects of character rendering him unfit to serve on the bench. The hearings proceeded before the state senate between September and November 1939. In the course of the proceedings Martin's business affairs and bad debts were examined for evidence of corruption. His personal relationships with court officers and lawyers who had been found guilty of bribery were also examined, as was his friendship with the notorious underworld "slot machine king" Leo P. Byk.