Jim Jones (born May 13, 1942) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the chief justice of the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho state courts. The only court that may reverse ...

and a former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Early life and education

Born in Twin Falls, Idaho, Jones was raised on a farm near Eden, Idaho. He graduated from Valley High School in 1960. He attended Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, for a year and transferred to the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He also received a commission as Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Jones then earned a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1967.

Career

He served as an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

officer in the U.S. Army in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in the late 1960s and received several decorations, including the Army Commendation Medal and the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. Jones served as a legislative assistant to

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Len Jordan Leonard Beck Jordan (May 15, 1899June 30, 1983) was an American politician who served as the 23rd governor of Idaho and a United States Senator for over ten years. Early life and education Born in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Jordan's father was a cou ...

in the early 1970s. Afterwards he practiced law in

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

and Boise. Jones entered politics in 1978 as a candidate for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

from the state's 2nd district. He was defeated in the Republican primary by incumbent George Hansen, and lost again in the 1980 primary to Hansen. Jones was elected the state's attorney general as a Republican in 1982, and was re-elected unopposed in 1986. He ran for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jim McClure in 1990, but was defeated in the primary by Congressman

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. ...

, and returned to his private law practice in 1991. Jones was elected to the

in May 2004, unopposed in a nonpartisan election to fill the open seat of retiring justice Wayne Kidwell. He was unopposed for re-election in May 2010 and became chief justice in August 2015 by a vote of his peer justices. Jones retired from active service in January 2017. As the Idaho Republican Party convened in July 2022 to consider a resolution declaring Joe Biden was not legitimately elected, Jones characterized the resolution as "asinine," adding "the party has gotten so caught up in conspiracy theories, meaningless culture war issues, that they have quit being able to function as a meaningful political party. We have got to get away from this authoritarian streak that has infected the Idaho Republican Party, as well as a good part of the nation, because it’s absolutely tearing our country apart."

References

1942 births Living people Idaho Attorneys General Idaho lawyers People from Twin Falls, Idaho University of Oregon alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court People from Jerome, Idaho Chief Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court {{Idaho-state-judge-stub