Profile of Donald R. Franson, Jr.

Donald R. Franson, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1978.

Franson was a Deputy District Attorney in Fresno County from 1978 through 1980. Excluding 3 years as General Counsel and later Executive Vice President of an agricultural processing and marketing company, he was in private practice for the next 25 years, practicing civil litigation. Franson was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the Fresno County Superior Court in 2005.  In 2010, he was nominated by Governor Schwarzenegger as an Associate Justice to the Court of Appeal and later confirmed.

In 2014, Franson was asked by the Chief Justice to organize and chair the Civic Learning Partnership for Fresno County.  He served on the Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, the Appellate Justices Institute Committee and the Appellate Practice Curriculum Committee.