---
title: "Melanie L. Turnbull | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/melanie-l-turnbull-vi"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Melanie L. Turnbull

Superior Court of the Virgin Islands · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Superior Court of the Virgin Islands
- State: U.S. Virgin Islands
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active

## Summary

Melanie L. Turnbull — Superior Court of the Virgin Islands

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, Family Division, serving the St. Thomas–St. John district, nominated by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. in October 2025.
- Assistant Federal Public Defender (2018–2025) for the District of the Virgin Islands
- Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands law clerk to Justice Ive A. Swan (2014–2015), drafting memoranda, researching jurisprudence, and assisting with opinions
- Additional experience includes a legal externship with Chiesi USA Inc. and a summer clerkship at the North Carolina Supreme Court for Justice Barbara Jackson
- Governor Bryan described Turnbull’s nomination as based on her strong trial experience, careful preparation, and commitment to equal justice under law, highlighting her qualifications, character, and service to the Virgin Islands

### Education

- in Molecular Biology, cum laude, Hampton University — B.S.

### Additional information

- Assistant Territorial Public Defender (2015–2018), managing a full misdemeanor and felony caseload from preliminary hearings through trial and sentencing.
- Turnbull is a member of the Virginia State Bar (2013) and the U.S. Virgin Islands Bar (2014).
- Currently appointed as a Family Division judge in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, covering the St. Thomas–St. John district.
- Part of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ state judicial system and handles family-related cases under the court’s jurisdiction.
- representing indigent clients in arraignments, bail hearings, pretrial matters, jury trials, sentencing, and post-conviction cases involving fraud, bank robbery, identity theft, firearms offenses, narcotics conspiracies, immigration offenses, and contested sentencing.
- J.D., Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, where she served on the mock trial team, won a regional championship in the 38th National Trial Competition, and held leadership roles in the Student Bar Association and dean search committee.

## Sources

- [superior.vicourts.org](https://superior.vicourts.org/about_us/judicial_officers/judges)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Virgin Islands Superior Court Rule 5 — written and oral orders](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-c02b11b9b26110c9da2a54db) — Virgin Islands Superior Court only; source dated June 1, 2019, qualified for later amendments and superseding procedural rules. Shared baseline only, not a judge-specific preference or complete local rules inventory. Apply source exceptions, case-type limits, later amendments and case orders. [Official source](https://www.vicourts.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=16016022). Collected 2026-10-27.