Theodore Jones (New York)
Theodore T. Jones Jr. was a judge of the State of New York Court of Appeals, New York's court of last resort. Justice Jones was appointed by Democratic Governor Spitzer in January of 2007 and took office in February.[1][2] Jones unexpectedly passed away on November 6, 2012.[3][4]
Education
Jones received his B.A. in history and political science from Hampton University in 1965. He then served active duty in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969. He received his law degree in 1972 from St. Johns University School of Law.[1]
Career
Jones began his career as a criminal defense attorney with the Legal Aid Society. He then worked as a law secretary to Justice Howard Jones of the New York State Court of Claims before becoming a private practice lawyer. He was elected to the New York Supreme Court in 1990, where he presided over the Juvenile Offender Part in Kings County from September 1993 to December 1997. In 1998, he judged in the civil term and, in 2006, he became the Administrative Judge of that term. In 2007, he left the Supreme Court for his current position on the Court of Appeals.[1]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Jones received a campaign finance score of -0.69, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.24 that justices received in New York.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[5]
External links
- State of New York Court of Appeals, Hon. Theodore T. Jones
- Project Vote Smart, Judge Theodore T. Jones (NY)
- Gotham Gazette, "Court Limits Aid to Aged and Disabled," May 2009
- New York Civil Law, "Breaking News - Justice Theodore Jones Nominated to New York Court of Appeals," January 14, 2007
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Official biography of Judge Jones
- ↑ American Judicature Society: New York judges
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "New York Court of Appeals Judge Theodore Jones Dies at 68," November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The New York Times, "Theodore T. Jones Jr., Judge on New York’s Top Court, Dies at 68," November 9, 2012
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
