"I hope I don't look for them," he said Tuesday morning after he was deputized by District Attorney David Yocom as a special prosecutor to try Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman on two felony counts.

But Martinez has stepped into several disputes - as a columnist, as an attorney, as an activist.

The Murray lawyer is outspoken on minority and west-side issues. He has taken on insurance companies, Salt Lake City and others defending the rights of those without many resources. He has chastised political leaders, Republican and Democrat. He even sued a Salt Lake County commissioner.

In fact, the 55-year-old attorney is now defending 82 former employees and customers of Panaderia La Diana, which was raided in 1997 by police officers who forced everyone to the ground and handcuffed them. A judge later gutted the drug charges against the owner. Martinez represented the owner and called the incident a "stereotype raid," in which all the defendants were treated like drug dealers.

In 2001, he sued outgoing Republican County Commissioner Mary Callaghan for breaking a campaign promise and accepting a $279,000 severance payment after voters eliminated the remaining years on her term when the form of government changed. Martinez lost in court but won fans for challenging the severance.

Now, Martinez has joined a politically charged case that could doom Workman's political career. He has full discretion to dismiss the felonies, craft a plea deal or prosecute the mayor before a jury.

His entrance to the Workman drama adds another character to an already intriguing courtroom cast.

Workman's lead defense attorney is Greg Skordas, the Democratic candidate for Utah attorney general and Yocom's former chief deputy.

Martinez, a former chief deputy to a Republican county attorney, is now prosecuting a GOP mayor.

Martinez, who has been a columnist for Salt Lake City's two daily newspapers, once criticized Workman and Yocom for their handling of an accounting discrepancy at the county's Fine Arts Division.

"The district attorney is - wink, wink - investigating criminal wrongdoing," Martinez wrote in a Salt Lake Tribune column alleging that the mayor and district attorney let off the division director despite a $1 million discrepancy in the books.

Martinez is not registered with any political party, but he has been involved in GOP activities.

Still, former Republican County Commissioner Brent Overson says picking Martinez was not the best selection.

"Mike Martinez is a great guy, a very competent attorney," Overson said. "But [Yocom] should have selected somebody that didn't have any biases. He doesn't have a clean slate with respect to Nancy Workman."

Democratic County Councilman Jim Bradley called Martinez a "good Republican" and noted that Yocom was quick in making his choice, and that the action should "lay to rest any notion that he did this as a stall tactic."

Martinez, a Salt Lake area native, graduated from the University of Utah law school in 1976. He has served as a Salt Lake City prosecutor, an assistant attorney general and as chief deputy of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Reagan.

Yocom acknowledged Martinez wasn't his first choice for special prosecutor. Out of a short list of attorneys to choose from, Martinez was the first to agree.

Still, Yocom said, "The citizens of Salt Lake County are fortunate to have someone of Mike's experience and ability to assume the responsibility in this case on such short notice."

tburr@sltrib.com

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Tribune reporters Lori Buttars and Derek Jensen contributed to this story.