Alvin Turner, Jr., District Judge for the 23rd Judicial District, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 10, 1955. He is the son of the late Alvin Turner, Sr., of Lutcher, Louisiana and the late Maude Thompson Dumas Turner of Geismar, Louisiana. He is married to Cherlynn Pinell Turner. Judge Turner and his wife have three (3) children, Travis (a practicing attorney in Louisiana), Tyler (a 2007 graduate of LSU in Sociology), and Terrilyn (a 2009 graduate of LSU in Mass Communication). Judge Turner has one grandson, Tristan. They reside in Gonzales, Louisiana.
Judge Turner is a 1973 graduate of East Ascension High School and of LSU in Baton Rouge. He received his J.D. Degree from Southern University Law Center in 1980. His work experience has included Capital Area Legal Services, 23rd Judicial Indigent Defender Program and the District Attorney’s Office for the 23rd Judicial District as an assistant district attorney from 1982 to 1993.
Judge Turner ascended to the bench on January 1, 1994. Judge Turner is a board member of the Louisiana Judicial College, a member of the Louisiana District Judges Association, Louisiana Judicial Council, National Judges Association, Fifth Circuit Judges Association, Wex Malone Inns of Court, National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, American Judges Association, National Judicial College…and has served on committees appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court in addition to periodically serves as a panelist for the Louisiana Judicial College at various seminars, including the Capital Training Seminars for judges handling capital cases. He is presently serving as the Chief Judge for the 23rd Judicial District Court.
Judge Turner is involved in several community organizations, namely, United People for Progress, Jambalaya Festival Association, Geismar Volunteer Fire Department. He also has served on the Gonzales Planning and Zoning Committee and has been involved in the Gonzales Youth Basketball League for over 35 years, where he served as a coach and later the director.