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Jerome Turner, son of Cooper and Eugenia (Morrison) Turner, was born February 18, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. His family of lawyers includes his father, who was a founding partner at the Memphis law firm of Canada, Russell & Turner, his aunt, his wife, Kay Farese Turner, his father-in-law and two brothers-in-law.1
After graduating from public school in Memphis, Turner entered Washington & Lee University where he received a B.A. in 1964 and an L.L.B. cum laude in 1966. His academic and leadership distinctions included membership in Order of the Coif, Omicron Delta Kappa, Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, as well as being a contributor to and Comments Editor of the Washington & Lee Law Review. He was elected twice to the Executive Committee of the University and served on the University's Honor Council. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Phi Delta Phi, for which he served as president and was recognized as its Outstanding Graduate.2 He received a LL.M. in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia in 1988.3
Turner was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1966 and served as the first law clerk to the Honorable Robert M. McRae, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee. From 1967 until 1988, Turner engaged in the private practice of law centering on litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, in the federal and state courts. His association with Canada, Russell & Turner led to a partnership in 1974. In 1978, the firm merged with a Chicago firm to form Wildman, Harrold, Allen, Dixon & McDonnell. Turner continued as a partner until his appointment to the federal bench.4
On July 1, 1987, President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Turner to replace his old mentor, Judge McRae, on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. He was appointed on December 9, 1987,and took the oath of office on January 19, 1988.5 After assuming duty on the federal bench, Judge Turner handled cases that changed the face of Memphis politics. In 1991, his ruling in a voting rights lawsuit eliminated the runoff provision in all citywide elections in Memphis, helping lead to the election of the city's first black elected mayor.6 In 1993, he also presided over the second bank fraud trial of then U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, which ended in not guilty verdicts for the congressman and two others.7
Turner received the 1993 Charles Rond Outstanding Jurist Award given by the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association (MBA). At the time of his appointment to the federal court, he was serving as President of the MBA. He was Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Foundation for the years of 1982-83, 1987, and served on the Resolutions Committee (1970-71) and the Specialization of Law Committee (1985) of the Tennessee Bar Association. He was a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation.8
As MBA President, Turner adopted a theme of professionalism in law which led to the publication of "Guidelines for Professional Courtesy" by the MBA. The publication is founded upon principles espoused by Turner that lawyers owe a duty to the legal system which render them "committed to the continued improvement and success of this nation's effort to afford justice in our civilization . . . based on laws that apply not just to some, but to all."9
Turner was married twice. He married Shirley Broadhead on October 18, 1969. On August 22, 1987, Turner married Kay Farese. The Turners have five children: Alexandra Cox Turner, Christian Annette Turner, Park Dodge Luckett, Oliver Luckett, and Whitney Luckett.10 Judge Turner died at his home in Memphis, February 12, 2000, after a bout with cancer. After a mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, burial was in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis.11 |
