[1] Burns received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Loma College in 1976 and a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1979.

[5] On March 4, 2006, Burns sentenced former U.S. Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham to eight years and four months in federal prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors in return for smoothing the way for government contracts.

On November 5, 2007, Burns sentenced Francisco Javier Arellano Félix, head of the notorious Arrellano Felix drug cartel, to life in prison.

[7][8] On December 20, 2012, Burns wrote an op-ed column in the Los Angeles Times calling for a reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban.

In the article, Burns described himself as an ardent conservative and gun owner who nonetheless felt there was no "social utility" for high-capacity clips.

"If we can't find a way to draw sensible lines with guns that balance individual rights and the public interest," Burns wrote, "we may as well call the experiment with American democracy a failure.