Presiding Justice Paul Turner was born on Columbus Day, 1947 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He graduated from Antelope Valley High School in 1965 and received his bachelor's degree magna cum laude in political science from then California State College at Long Beach in June 1969. He graduated from the School of Law at the University of California at Los Angeles in December, 1972 after completing active duty training in the U.S. Army. He served in the California Army National Guard as an infantry platoon leader. After passing the February 1973, bar examination, he was admitted to practice law in California. He later was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
As a lawyer in private practice, he litigated both criminal and civil cases in federal and state courts. He also represented principally criminal defendants in several hundred appeals. He represented the defendant in the case of People v. Barraza in which the California Supreme Court changed the test for entrapment in California courts. He also represented the California Retailers Association and former State Senator Newton Russell in the case of In re Deborah C. where the California Supreme Court held that Miranda warnings need not be given by store security guards.
On October 4, 1983, at the age of 35, he was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court. In 1984, he was challenged for his seat on the municipal court in the primary election. He won the June primary election after securing endorsements from virtually every side of the political spectrum and retained his seat with 67.18 percent of the vote. In 1984 and 1985, he was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian to serve as the judicial representative to the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety. On March 1, 1985, at the age of 38, he was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court. While on that court, he was the first judge to serve in the night court project where felony cases were tried during the late afternoon and evening as part of an effort to reduce county jail crowding. Later, after serving one year as a law and motion civil judge, he was 1 of 25 civil judges assigned to the trial court delay reduction project. This program assigned civil cases to judges and gave them the responsibility of insuring that the lawsuits were promptly resolved. At the commencement of the program, civil cases were routinely taking five years to resolve. In then Judge Turner's court, virtually all new cases were resolved within one year rather than the normal five years that it had previously taken.
Appointed to Division Five of the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District by Governor George Deukmejian, he was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments as an Associate Justice and took office on November 2, 1989. He was elevated to the position of Presiding Justice and after confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, took office on January 6, 1991. For six years he served as the Assistant Administrative Presiding Justice and as a Presiding Justice has sat by assignment on the California Supreme Court on seven occasions. He is currently a member of the Second Appellate District Executive Committee. He is a member of the California Judge's Association and has served on that group's civil law and procedure, criminal law, and election committees. On four separate occasions, he has been assigned by the California Supreme Court to act as a Special Master in hearings ordered by the Commission on Judicial Performance.
While attending CSULB he participated as a member of the debate team in 1965 through the end of his sophomore year in 1967.Judge Turner’s father, George Turner, and his brother, Charles Turner graduated from Long Beach State.
President Alexander, Justice Turner, Ruth and George Turner
