Theodore Theopolis Jones Jr. (March 10, 1944 – November 6, 2012) was an American attorney and judge from the state of New York. Jones served as a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

from 1990 to 2007 and as a judge on the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

from 2007 until his death.

Early life, education, military service, and family

An African-American, Theodore Theopolis Jones Jr. was born on March 10, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Theodore Jones, a railroad employee, and Hortense Parker Jones, a teacher. Jones graduated from

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

in 1965, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science. He served on active duty in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1967 to 1969 in Vietnam, achieving the rank of captain. He graduated from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Mast ...

in 1972. Jones was married to the former Joan Hogans and had two sons, Wesley and Theodore III.

Legal and judicial career

After working for the Legal Aid Society and as an attorney in private practice, Jones was first elected to the

in 1989. Beginning in 1993, he presided over the Juvenile Offender Part in Kings County. Jones was re-elected to the Supreme Court in 2003. Jones "came to wide public attention" in 2005 when he presided over the New York City transit strike case. After Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union violated Jones's injunction and held New York City’s first transit strike in 25 years, Jones "fined the union $2.5 million and sentenced its president, Roger Toussaint, to 10 days in jail for contempt of court". Jones was appointed as an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals by then-Governor

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

in January 2007. He was confirmed by the New York State Senate in February 2007 and was sworn in on February 13, 2007. In 2009, Chief Judge

Jonathan Lippman Jonathan Lippman (born May 19, 1945) is an American jurist who served as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 2009 through 2015. He is currently Of Counsel in the Litigation & Trial Department of Latham & Watkins’ New York office. ...

appointed Jones to co-lead the Justice Task Force, which was formed in an effort to reduce the incidence of wrongful convictions.

Death

Jones died of an apparent heart attack on November 6, 2012, at his New City, New York home. He was 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Theodore T. 1944 births 2012 deaths Hampton University alumni St. John's University School of Law alumni Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Lawyers from Brooklyn Military personnel from New York City United States Army officers 20th-century New York state court judges 20th-century American lawyers African-American judges 21st-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American lawyers