--- title: "Theresa Cogar Turner | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/theresa-cogar-turner-wv-family-lewis" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Theresa Cogar Turner West Virginia Family Court, Lewis County · Family Court Judge ## Profile - Court: West Virginia Family Court, Lewis County - State: West Virginia - Role: Family Court Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-27 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge Theresa Cogar Turner is an elected Family Court Judge serving the Seventeenth Family Court Circuit (Lewis and Upshur Counties) in West Virginia, having been re‐elected in 2024. - Earlier career experience includes assistant Public Defender, Kanawha County, 2000-2005; assistant Public Defender, Harrison County, 2006 - Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Lewis County ### Education - Bachelor's degree, Political Science from West Virginia University - West Virginia University College of Law — J.D. ### Additional information - Re-elected in 2024 to the reconfigured Seventeenth Family Court Circuit, Lewis and Upshur Counties. - Re‐elected in 2024 to the newly configured circuit. - Elected to the Seventeenth Family Court Circuit in 2016. - Child Support Attorney for the West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (2006–2014). - Terms for family court judges in West Virginia are eight years, with appointments by the governor to fill vacancies. - Judge Turner presides over family law cases in the Seventeenth Family Court Circuit, which currently covers only Lewis and Upshur Counties. - Family court judges in West Virginia handle matters such as divorce, annulment, separate maintenance, paternity, grandparent visitation, name changes, infant guardianship, child custody, allocation of parental responsibility, and family support proceedings, as well as performing marriages. - Judge Turner is a native of Lewis County and resides in Weston, WV, with her husband, Jamie, and two sons. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### camera and audio equipment Scope: statewide West Virginia Trial Court Rule 8 makes courtroom camera and audio equipment subject to the presiding circuit judge's or magistrate's permission. Evidence excerpt: Cameras and audio equipment may be permitted in and around the courtrooms at the discretion of each presiding circuit judge or magistrate. [West Virginia Trial Court Rules, Rule 8: Media Coverage of Court Proceedings](https://www.courtswv.gov/legal-community/court-rules/wv-trial-court-rules-contents) Source checked: 2026-07-27 ### advance media request timing Scope: statewide West Virginia Trial Court Rule 8 directs the presiding officer to decide requests for camera or audio coverage made at least one day before the proceeding, and lack of advance approval may preclude use. Evidence excerpt: Requests made by a party or any other person at least one day in advance of the proceedings. [West Virginia Trial Court Rules, Rule 8: Media Coverage of Court Proceedings](https://www.courtswv.gov/legal-community/court-rules/wv-trial-court-rules-contents) Source checked: 2026-07-27 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/family-judges/theresaTurner) - [Official roster](https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/family-judges/theresaTurner) - [West Virginia Judiciary official judicial roster](https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/family-judges/theresaTurner) - [West Virginia Trial Court Rules, Rule 8: Media Coverage of Court Proceedings](https://www.courtswv.gov/legal-community/court-rules/wv-trial-court-rules-contents) - [West Virginia Judiciary Lewis County directory](https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/lewis_county) - [West Virginia Judiciary Upshur County directory](https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/upshur_county) - [Judge Theresa Cogar Turner](https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/family-judges/theresaTurner) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/theresa-cogar-turner-wv-family-lewis", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/theresa-cogar-turner-wv-family-lewis", "name": "Theresa Cogar Turner | KnowJudges", "description": "Theresa Cogar Turner, West Virginia Family Court, Lewis County. 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