Maxwell Joseph Hall Turner (1907–1960) was a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

and judge of the Mayor's and City of London Court, specifically a Commissioner on the Bench of the

Central Criminal Court A Central Criminal Court refers to major legal court responsible for trying crimes within a given jurisdiction. Such courts include: *The name by which the Crown Court is known when it sits in the City of London *Central Criminal Court of England a ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is ...

, the "Old Bailey".

Biography

Turner was a

barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

in the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

and on the

South Eastern Circuit The Circuit Court ( ga, An Chúirt Chuarda) of Ireland is an intermediate level court of local and limited jurisdiction which hears both civil and criminal matters. On the criminal side the Circuit Court hears criminal matters tried on indictmen ...

. In addition to his advocacy, Turner was the joint editor of ''Archbold’s Pleading, Evidence & Practice in Criminal Cases With the Statutes, Precedents of Indictments, etc. and the Evidence Necessary to Support Them'' (30th edition, Sweet & Maxwell/Stevens & Sons, London 1938). In 1938, he became engaged to the actor

Fabia Drake Fabia Drake OBE (born Ethel McGlinchy; 20 January 1904 – 28 February 1990) was a British actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century. Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent. Her first professional role in ...

. He had met her 15 years previously at a

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

dance at the Turner household, a connexion vitalised through his older brother, dramatist

John Hastings Turner John Hastings Turner (16 December 1892 - 29 February 1956), frequently referred to as Hastings Turner or J. Hastings Turner, was an English novelist, dramatist and theatre director. His works were filmed and performed on stage and in film in Br ...

, a professional acquaintance of Drake's actor friend

Marie Tempest Dame Mary Susan Etherington, (15 July 1864 – 15 October 1942), known professionally as Marie Tempest, was an English singer and actress. Tempest became a famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, ...

, the promoter of the actors' union,

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

. Turner said he would never commit perjury, even to save Drake's life. They married in December 1938, and Drake gave up her career during the marriage to support him. They had one child, Deirdre, born in March 1940. Turner disliked working for the defence because of the burden of responsibility should there be no acquittal due to a point overlooked; after prosecuting, he even advised the defence to appeal if he believed they were not properly represented. He was counsel for

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

in a number of high-profile cases, including those of the

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of ...

murder trial of five youths and the

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Roa ...

serial killer and necrophile John Christie, both in 1953, and that of the German petty thief

Guenther Podola Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola (8 February 1929 – 5 November 1959, alias Mike Colato) was a German-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in Britain for killing a police officer. His trial was notable and controversial because of his ...

, who was the last person executed in Great Britain for murdering a police officer, in 1959. He became a judge in 1958. He was diagnosed with liver cancer the following year but dismissed the pain as indigestion; he was kept unaware of his true condition by doctors at Drake's request. He died after a brief stay in hospital at the age of 53, survived by his wife and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Maxwell 20th-century King's Counsel 1907 births 1960 deaths 20th-century English judges