John E. Jones
This page is about the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania judge. For other judges with this name, please see John Jones.
John E. Jones III was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R). He served as chief judge of the court from June 1, 2020, until his retirement from the court on August 1, 2021.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
A native of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Jones graduated from Dickinson College with his bachelor's degree in 1977 and from the Dickinson School of Law with his J.D. in 1980.[3]
Professional career
- 2002 - 2021: Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- 2020-2021: Chief judge
- 1995-2002: Chairman, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
- 1993-2002: Director, Union Bank and Trust Company
- 1984-1995: Part-time assistant public defender, Pennsylvania Public Defender's Office
- 1980-2002: Executive officer, Phoenix Contracting Co.
- 1980-1984: Law clerk, Hon. Guy Bowe, Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas[3]
Judicial career
Middle District of Pennsylvania
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| Nominee Information |
| Name: John E. Jones III |
| Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 151 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: February 28, 2002
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| ABA Rating: Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
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| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: May 9, 2002
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| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: May 16, 2002
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| Confirmed: July 29, 2002
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| Vote: 96-0
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Jones was nominated by President George W. Bush on February 28, 2002, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania vacated by James McClure. The American Bar Association rated Jones Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Jones' nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 9, 2002, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on May 16, 2002. Jones was confirmed on a recorded 96-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2002, and he received his commission on July 31, 2002.[3][4][5]
Noteworthy cases
Pennsylvania same-sex marriage challenge (2013-2014)
- See also: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Whitewood et al. v. Wolf et al., Case 1:2013cv01861)
- See also: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Whitewood et al. v. Wolf et al., Case 1:2013cv01861)
On July 9, 2013, in the wake of the United States Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor, the Pennsylvania ACLU filed suit on behalf of 23 plaintiffs in an attempt to strike the state's ban on gay marriage, alleging that it violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. In May 2014, Judge Jones permanently barred the state of Pennsylvania from denying same-sex couples marriage licenses.[6] Judge Jones did not issue a stay on his ruling pending appeal, instead writing:
| “ | By virtue of this ruling, same-sex couples who seek to marry in Pennsylvania may do so, and already married same-sex couples will be recognized as such in the Commonwealth.[7] | ” |
| —John E. Jones[8] | ||
Attorney General Kathleen Kane notably refused to defend the state's law, leaving Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Corbett to step in to handle the task. A motion to dismiss was filed where the state argued that, under the United States Supreme Court's decision in Baker v. Nelson, a federal court lacked jurisdiction over the state's law. On November 15, 2013, Judge Jones denied the motion, rejecting the notion that the 1972 decision cited by the state left federal courts powerless. On December 9, 2013, the state requested permission to file an interlocutory appeal on the question of law to the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, and Judge Jones denied that request on December 17, 2013.[9][10][11][12]
For more on cases involving same-sex marriage bans, see Same-sex marriage in the federal courts.
Judges' case dismissed in retirement age lawsuit(2013)
- See also: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Lerner, at al v. Corbett, et al, Case 1:12-cv-02577-JEJ)
- See also: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Lerner, at al v. Corbett, et al, Case 1:12-cv-02577-JEJ)
In September 2013, Judge Jones dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of Pennsylvania judges challenging the state's retirement age law. The judges argued mandatory retirement violated equal protection laws and subjects judges to age discrimination. Judge Jones did not comment on the constitutionality of the law, but found that only the citizens of the state have the authority to change the amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution. This ruling mirrors the outcome of a similar case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The plaintiff judges in the case appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, where the lower court opinion rendered by Judge Jones was affirmed.[13][14][15]
Constitutionality of intelligent design in public school science curricula rejected (2005)
In 2005, Jones presided over the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. This case was the first federal court challenge against a public school district that had required the teaching of intelligent design. Judge Jones found for the plaintiff, holding that mandating the teaching of intelligent design violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.[16][17]
See also
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Patriot-News, "Judge John E. Jones III to take over the helm of U.S. Middle District Court," accessed Sep 24, 2020
- ↑ Yahoo News: Standard-Speaker, "Judge Jones set to retire from bench," May 16, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge John E. Jones III," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1471 — John E. Jones III — The Judiciary," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 107th Congress," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ CNN.com, "Federal judge rules same-sex marriage ban in Pennsylvania is unconstitutional," May 20, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The New York Times, "Judge Strikes Down Pennsylvania's Gay Marriage Ban," May 20, 2014 accessed on May 22, 2014
- ↑ ABC 6 Action News, "Pennsylvania Attorney General won't defend gay marriage ban," July 11, 2013
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Pennsylvania gay marriage ban to face court test," November 15, 2013
- ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer, "Judge clears way for trial on Pa. gay marriage ban," November 17, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "Judge in Pa. gay marriage suit nixes state appeal," December 17, 2013
- ↑ Philly.com, "Challenge rejected to Pa. judges' age-70 retirement," September 24, 2013
- ↑ Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, "PA Judges Lose Federal Challenge to Mandatory Retirement," September 25, 2013
- ↑ PennLive.com, "U.S. Appeals Court backs Pa. judge retirement mandate," April 29, 2014
- ↑ Court document of the case, Case 4:04-cv-02688-JEJ (dead link)
- ↑ The Talk Origins Archive, "Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District; Dover, Pennsylvania Intelligent Design Case," September 28, 2006
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: James McClure |
Middle District of Pennsylvania 2002–2021 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: TBD
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
