Portland — Charlie Turner, the former U.S. Attorney for Oregon under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and who served as prosecutor in the 1985 Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh conspiracy case, died Jan. 8. He was 82.
A titan in the Oregon legal community, Turner spent 11 years at the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and 25 years as a federal prosecutor in Oregon.
He tried conspiracy cases ranging from international drug smuggling rings to an armed and deadly breakout at the Rocky Butte Jail.
But Turner was best known publicly for his tough stance on drug and gang crime in Portland and as the prosecutor of the Rajneesh conspiracy case.
He was at the forefront of task force development for Portland’s quickly developing gang problem in the 1980s and was always known “to do the right thing for the right reason,” current U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams said on Saturday.
Turner was a tenacious, prepared and intense lawyer, said Williams, who first met Turner in 1987.
“There are people who are good lawyers in their respective careers in their specialties, there are lawyers who never go to court, there are lawyers who aren’t very good in court and then there are people like Charlie,” Williams said. “Being an effective trial lawyer takes skill beyond what law school you went to or how well you did. It requires preparation and a special skill of being in command of the facts and in command of the courtroom.”
“That’s who Charlie was. I think everyone from fellow prosecutors to opposing counsel would say the same thing.”
As U.S. attorney, Turner investigated immigration fraud at Rancho Rajneesh, a spiritual encampment in eastern Oregon for Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and 2,000 of his worshippers. The investigation, which later included wiretapping and bioterrorism, resulted in an attempted murder plot against Turner by two members of the commune.
Williams described Turner as having an incredible impact on the Department of Justice in the Northwest, helping grow the department from a small office to a “prominent law firm in the District of Oregon.”
Among his hires was Michael Mosman, the now Chief District Judge of the District Court for the District of Oregon. Mosman described Turner as “the last of his kind,” Williams said.
Turner retired from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in April 1993. He later moved to the Seattle-Edmonds area to be closer to his adult children, Williams said.
