Martin Cannon is one of several senior litigation counsel attorneys at Thomas More Society. In his 35-year career in state and federal courts, he has emphasized pro-life litigation and legislation and the continuous defense of sidewalk counselors. He has defended over 40 cases for sidewalk counselors charged at the behest of Nebraska’s late-term abortionist Leroy Carhart and, with fellow Thomas More attorney Matthew Heffron, obtained the jury acquittal of Catholic priest Fr. Norman Weslin on federal FACE charges arising out of events at the Carhart clinic.
Mr. Cannon routinely advises leadership of the national Sidewalk Advocates for Life organization and advises and defends their volunteers across the country, as well as those of 40 Days for Life.
Since joining Thomas More Society, Mr. Cannon has won significant cases in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Alabama, and New York. He has resolved dozens other cases in favor of sidewalk counselors without trial in those and many other states.
In 2018, Mr. Cannon was lead counsel for Thomas More Society in defeating New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s precedent setting Federal Court effort to shut down the activities of sidewalk counselors around one of the country’s biggest abortion clinics, obtaining sound victories after a month-long federal trial and the State’s appeal of its loss to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Cannon is currently lead counsel representing Lauren Handy, the lead defendant in a FACE case brought by the Biden Department of Justice against Ms. Handy and nine other peaceful pro-lifers who staged a sit in at a notorious late-term clinic in Washington, DC.
The Thomas More Society is a founding member of Iowa’s Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders. As its representative to the coalition, Mr. Cannon has actively assisted the coalition and legislators in drafting and passing pro-life legislation, and represented Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the people of Iowa in defense of Iowa’s Heartbeat Law. He has recently been travelling the state, addressing influential groups in support of the upcoming amendment to the Iowa constitution.
Mr. Cannon and his wife, Christine, are on the Board of Directors of the Assure Women’s Center in Omaha, NE. The center has a highly successful model, consistently reaching over 1,400 abortion-determined women per year in Omaha alone and empowering over 75% of them to choose life. Since 2013, the organization has trained over 70 additional centers throughout the United States.
