Charles Edward Jones (June 12, 1935 – December 20, 2018) was an American lawyer who served as a justice of the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justi ...

from 1996 to 2002 and then as the chief justice of the court from 2002 to 2005. Jones was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) and served in several positions in the church. CharlesEJones

Biography

Jones was born and raised in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

. He served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

of the LDS Church in the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

in the 1950s, which included France and the

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

portions of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 1959, he graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He then received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

. Jones married Elizabeth Ann Anderson, a native of

Safford, Arizona Safford (Western Apache language, Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,1 ...

. They were the parents of seven children. Jones was admitted to the bar in California in 1962 and then admitted to the bar in Arizona in 1964. From 1963 he was part of the firm of Jennings, Stouss & Salmon and was the head of their labor and employment division. From 1994 to 1998 Jones was the national chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. In the LDS Church, Jones has served in several positions including as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

. From 1990 to 1993 he served as president of the France

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Mission. Jones died on December 20, 2018, from complications of a brain aneurysm. One of Jones's daughters is

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

journalist Ruth Todd.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070604152849/http://www.supreme.state.az.us/azsupreme/jones.htm * ''

Church News The ''Church News'' (formerly ''LDS Church News'') is a multi-platform supplement and subdivision of the ''Deseret News'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (informally, the LDS Church). ...

'', January 12, 2002; February 17, 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Charles E. 1935 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century American judges American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in France Arizona lawyers Brigham Young University alumni Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Canadian Mormon missionaries Chief justices of the Arizona Supreme Court Justices of the Arizona Supreme Court Latter Day Saints from Arizona Mormon missionaries in Belgium Mormon missionaries in Switzerland Stanford Law School alumni