John E. Jones III

Infobox Judge
name = John E. Jones III


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office = United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
termstart = July 30, 2002
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nominator =
appointer = George W. Bush
predecessor = James McClure
successor = Incumbent
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termend2 =
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appointer2 =
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birthdate = birth date and age|1955|06|13
birthplace =
deathdate =
deathplace =
spouse = Beth Ann
alma_mater = Dickinson School of Law
religion = Protestant

John Edward Jones III (born June 13 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A Republican, Jones was appointed by President George W. Bush as federal judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in February 2002 and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on July 30 2002. He is best known for his presiding role in the landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case, in which the teaching of intelligent design in public school science classes was ruled to be unconstitutional.

Early life, education, and law career

Jones was born in 1955 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and raised in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, where he attended Blue Mountain High School. He graduated high school from Mercersburg Academy. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in 1977 and law degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1980. At that time, the school was unaffiliated with Pennsylvania State University.

After clerking for Guy A. Bowe, the president-county judge for Schuylkill County from 1980 to 1983, Jones joined the law firm of Dolbin & Cori. When he was made a partner, the name of the firm was changed to Dolbin, Cori & Jones.

In 1986, Judge Jones began his own private practice, John Jones & Associates. He spent the next years as a trial lawyer. He also served as solicitor for several municipalities, including his hometown of Pottsville, and was a part-time assistant Schuylkill County public defender until 1995. From around 1992 until his appointment to the federal bench, Jones served as counsel to the Reading firm of Roland & Schlegel.

Political career

In 1992, Jones unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives for the Sixth Congressional District seat and then was co-chair of the transition team for Governor-elect Tom Ridge.

Jones was the chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board from 1995 to 2002, a period marked by some controversy. He was part of a failed attempt to privatize state stores, and he banned Bad Frog Beer after determining that its label (a frog giving the finger) was in bad taste. He briefly considered running for Governor in 2001, but was appointed to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush in February 2002. He was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 30 and was commissioned on August 2.

ervice on federal bench

Jones was assigned to the "Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District" bench trial, the first direct challenge brought in the federal courts against a school district that mandated the teaching of intelligent design. He was praised by Tom Ridge, former Pennsylvania Governor and former head of the Department of Homeland Security, who said that "I can't imagine a better judge presiding over such an emotionally charged issue... he has an inquisitive mind, a penetrating intellect and an incredible sense of humor." [ [http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/6346.html Bad Frog Beer to 'intelligent design'] , Amy Worden, "Philadelphia Inquirer" October 16, 2005.]

On December 20, 2005, Jones ruled that the mandate was unconstitutional in a 139-page decision. [ [http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/decision.htm Kitzmiller decision] via official court site accessed December 21, 2005]

After the ruling was handed down, some pundits immediately attacked it, notably Bill O'Reilly on Fox News accusing Jones of being a fascist and an activist judge. Casey Luskin and Jonathan Witt of the Discovery Institute, and activist Phyllis Schlafly, have leveled similar charges. [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PhyllisSchlafly/2006/01/02/false_judge_makes_mockery_of_case_for_intelligent_design False judge makes mockery of case for 'intelligent design'] Phyllis Schlafly Townhall.com January 2, 2006] Jones also received death threats as a result of which he and his family were given around-the-clock federal protection. [ cite web |url=http://www.topix.net/content/kri/2007/11/dan-margolies-legal-affairs-legal-affairs-decision-on-murder-case-holds-up |title=Decision on murder case holds up |accessdate= 2008-03-23|author=Dan Margolies |date= November 19, 2007|publisher=Kansas City Star ]

In a speech to the Anti-Defamation League on February 10, 2006 he responded to critics who claimed that he had "stabbed the evangelicals who got him onto the federal bench right in the back" by noting that his duty was to the Constitution and not to special interest groups. [ [http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/speech_judge_jones.asp Speech by U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III to the Anti-Defamation League] ]

In a November 2006 talk given at Bennington College, Jones again rejected the "activist judge" criticisms and explained the judiciary role and how judges decide cases:quotation|If you look at public polls in the United States, at any given time a significant percentage of Americans believe that it is acceptable to teach creationism in public high schools. And that gives rise to an assumption on the part of the public that judges should 'get with the program' and make decisions according to the popular will.

There's a problem with that....The framers of the Constitution, in their almost infinite wisdom, designed the legislative and executive branches under Articles I and II to be directly responsive to the public will. They designed the judiciary, under Article III, to be responsive not to the public will--in effect to be a bulwark against public will at any given time--but to be responsible to the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

That distinction, just like the role of precedent, tends to be lost in the analysis of judges' decisions, including my decision. [ [http://www.collegenews.org/x6455.xml The Myth of "Activist Judges"] , an excerpt from remarks made on Nov. 26, 2006, hy Federal Judge John E. Jones at Bennington College's Ruth D. Ewing Lecture in Social Activism]

Personal life

Jones is a Lutheran of Welsh descent. He married his wife, Beth Ann, in 1982. They have two children: a daughter, Meghan, and son John. He has 3 brothers David, Jeff and Jim. He has a share in a business operated by others in his family, Distinct Golf, which runs five golf courses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Jones is a member of the board of trustees of Dickinson College, a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. [ [http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2008/05/07/news/state/doc48222634e09ed542074562.txt Pa. judge known for 'intelligent design' case now a Dickinson College trustee] , May 7, 2008]

Awards, positions, and honors

*Member of the Raven's Claw Honorary Society at Dickinson College
*Former board member and president-elect of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (resigned when appointed to federal bench).
*Distinguished Alumnus Award, Dickinson School of Law
*Welsh Citizen of the Year Award, St. David's Society of Schuylkill and Carbon Counties.
*Former assistant Scoutmaster and other positions in the Boy Scouts of America
*In 2006, he was named to "Time" magazine's [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187265,00.html 100 Most Influential People of the Year] .
*Honorary Doctorate, Muhlenberg College [http://www.muhlenberg.edu/muhlinfo/news/57_degrees.html] .
*Board of Trustees, Dickinson College
*Board of Directors, Federal Judges Association
*Board of Directors, Justice at Stake Campaign

References

External links

* [http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/bios/jones.htm John E. Jones III biography via United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania]
* [http://www.dickinson.edu/commencement/2006/address.html Judge Jones' commencement address at Dickinson College, May 21, 2006]
* [http://www.dickinson.edu/commencement/2006/honjones.html Honorary degree citation for Judge Jones by Dickinson College, May 21, 2006]
* [http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/speech_judge_jones.asp Judge Jones on Judicial Independence] From a speech given by Jones to the Anti-Defamation League's National Executive Committee Meeting, February 10, 2006
* [http://www.procapitalism.com/pcap_usa/htms/gasscs.htm#jej Judge John E. Jones at Procapitalism U.S.A.]
* [http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/educate/ktzmllrdvr122005opn.pdf Written opinion of the United States District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School ] (PDF format from Findlaw)
* [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/kitzmiller_v_dover_decision.html Written opinion of the United States District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School ] (HTML format from TalkOrigins)
* [http://www.whyy.org/rameta/RT/2006/RT20060322_20.ram Radio interview of Judge Jones]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187265,00.html John Jones: The Judge Who Ruled for Darwin] Time magazine's "TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World"
* [http://www.hallcenter.ku.edu/~hallcenter/video/ Video of Judge Jones on Judicial Independence - Difficult Dialogues series] September 26, 2006.