James Thomas Turner (born March 12, 1938) is a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the United States Claims Court (now named the United States Court of Federal Claims).

Education and career

Turner received his Bachelor of Arts from

Wake Forest College Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

in 1960 and his Bachelor of Laws from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1965. In 1960 he was a desk reporter and copy desk employee for the Winston-Salem Journal in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

.Confirmation hearings on federal appointments : hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, first session, on confirmation of appointments to the federal judiciary and the Department of Justice. pt.1 (1989)
/ref> In 1963 he was general laborer and clerical worker for a construction company in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. From 1963 to 1965 he was a legal assistant for the law firm of Deets and Martin in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was formerly in the private practice of law in Norfolk, Virginia, 1965–1979 with the firm Williams, Worrell, Kelly & Greer. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1960 to 1962, achieving the rank of captain.

Federal judicial service

District court service

Turner was appointed a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

for the Eastern District of Virginia in July 1979 and served in that position until his appointment as Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Claims court service

On April 23, 1987, he was nominated by President Reagan to a seat on the Court of Claims vacated by

Haldane Robert Mayer Haldane Robert Mayer (born February 21, 1941) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Education and military service Mayer was born in Buffalo, New York, to Haldane and Myrtle Ma ...

who was elevated to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

. On June 3, 1987, a hearing was held on his nomination. He was reported out of committee on June 23, 1987. On July 1, 1987, he was confirmed in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. He was appointed Judge to the United States Court of Federal Claims on July 2, 1987, and entered on duty on August 19, 1987. He became a senior judge on July 2, 2002.

Personal life

He is married to the former Patricia Renfrow and has one son, James, III.

Memberships

He is a member of the American Bar Association, Virginia Bar Association, Virginia State Bar, and Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, James Thomas 1938 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims People from Clifton Forge, Virginia United States Army officers United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States magistrate judges University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Wake Forest University alumni