He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1971 and a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California in 1974.

At the same time, he acted as a hearing examiner for the Los Angeles Police Commission from 1980 to 1982.

In 1987, King became a United States magistrate judge for the Central District of California.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 1995, and received his commission the same day.

In perhaps his most famous ruling, King granted summary judgment in the case of Rupa Marya v. Warner/Chappell Music Inc. in favor of the plaintiffs, holding that defendants had no valid copyright in the song Happy Birthday, in a decision filed September 22, 2015.