Donnell Wilfred Turner
Judicial
Jurisdiction Prince George’s County (7)
On September 1, 2022, Judge Donnell W. Turner was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to be an Associate Judge of Prince George’s County Circuit Court. Before his appointment, Judge Turner was vetted by more than a dozen bar associations from Prince George’s County and around Maryland. Since taking the bench, Judge Turner has presided over a variety of serious
criminal, civil, and family law cases. In addition to his regular duties on the bench, Judge Turner currently serves on the Judicial Council’s Equal Justice and Court Access Committees.
Judge Turner is a native Prince Georgian who attended Prince George’s County Public Schools, including his alma mater, Parkdale High School, in Riverdale, Maryland. He is also a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park with a B.S. in Finance, and he obtained his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Judge Turner’s legal career spans over 30 years, including more than 25 years in public service. After spending the first several years of his career practicing labor and employment law, Judge Turner joined the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office as an Assistant State’s Attorney, where he prosecuted hundreds of felony and misdemeanor cases, including homicides,
sexual assaults, and robberies. Judge Turner later became a federal prosecutor, having served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division at the United States Department of Justice. During his tenure at DOJ, Judge
Turner investigated and prosecuted numerous international drug trafficking, money laundering, and corruption cases. Throughout his career as a prosecutor, Judge Turner has tried over one hundred jury trials in state and federal courts. In addition, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Turner served as appellate counsel on behalf of the United States.
In 2018, Judge Turner was appointed as Inspector General of the Prince
George’s Police Department by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. In this role, Judge Turner was responsible for detecting and preventing waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and misconduct within the Department.
Judge Turner’s commitment to public service also includes serving on the Board of Directors of Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County, and the Prince George’s County Bar Association, as well as membership in the Maryland State Bar Association’s Judicial Appointments Committee, and the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission’s Peer Review Committee. Judge Turner also volunteers with the First Tee Junior Golf Program of the Greater
Washington, D.C., the Maryland High School Mock Trial Competition, and the Charm City Classic Mock Trial Competition. In addition, from 1998 until 2017, Judge Turner taught as an adjunct professor at Prince George’s Community College. Judge Turner currently resides in Bowie.