Profile of Arlan L. Harrell
Justice Harrell was born and raised in Southern California. He attended the University of California, Riverside (UCR), where he met and married his wife, Linda. He graduated from UCR in 1987 with a degree in Philosophy-Law & Society and moved his young family north to the University of California, Davis, where he entered the King Hall School of Law. Justice Harrell next moved his growing family to the Central Valley where he completed his final semester of law school serving as a judicial extern with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard T. Ford (ret.) in Fresno before graduating from King Hall in 1990.
He began his legal career as an associate with the Fresno law firm of Lang, Richert & Patch, where he represented creditors, trustees, and debtors in bankruptcy litigation. Justice Harrell served as a Deputy District Attorney in Fresno County from February 1994 through December 2003, ending his prosecutorial career as a Senior Deputy District Attorney. He joined the Fresno Superior Court as a Court Commissioner selected by the judges of that court in December 2003. As a Commissioner, Justice Harrell handled dedicated traffic, misdemeanor, and felony domestic violence calendars before becoming a judge.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Justice Harrell as a judge of the Fresno Superior Court in May 2006. Justice Harrell spent 19-years as a trial court judge, serving his last 16-years in a general trial department presiding over jury trials. During his trial court career, he served a two-year term as the Assistant Presiding Judge (2018-2020) before being elected to and serving a two-year term as the Presiding Judge of the Fresno Superior Court (2020-2022). He served as a member of the Fresno Superior Court’s Executive Committee for 16 years, 8 consecutive 2-year terms, and on various court administrative committees during his tenure with the trial court. He twice served as faculty for the California Judicial Education Resource Center’s Domestic Violence Institute.
Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Justice Harrell for the position of associate justice of the Fifth Appellate District on August 5, 2025. His nomination was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on November 17, 2025.
Justice Harrell and Linda are proud parents, grandparents, and in-laws.