Hugh Richard Jones (March 19, 1914, New Hartford,

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

– March 3, 2001, Utica, Oneida Co., NY) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He graduated from Hamilton College in 1935, and then taught mathematics at the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

. He graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1939, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Utica. He married Jean McMillen, and they had five children. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, and was awarded a

Bronze Star Medal 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 ...

with

Combat V Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

. After the war, he resumed his law practice in Utica. He served on the New York State Board of Social Welfare, and was appointed Chairman by Governor

Nelson A. Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

in 1964. In 1972, he was President of the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, he was elected on the Republican and Conservative tickets to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

. He retired from the Court of Appeals at the end of 1984 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law with the firm of Hiscock & Barclay in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, retiring in 1992. Jones served as chair of the New York Commission on Judicial Nomination from 1992 until 1998. In ''

New York v. Onofre The ''People v. Ronald Onofre'', ''51 N.Y.2d 476, 415 N.E.2d 936, 434 N.Y.S.2d 947 (1980)'', was an appeal against New York's sodomy laws, decided in the New York Court of Appeals. The appeal consisted of several cases consolidated into one. The a ...

'', a 1980 decision that found the law against

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

between consenting adults to be unconstitutional, Jones wrote for the 5-to-2 majority: "It is not the function of the penal law to provide for the enforcement of moral or theological values." Jones was active in the Episcopal Church, serving as Chancellor of the bishops of the Diocese of Central New York. He also earned a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree from the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1974.

References

''The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003''
by

Bernard S. Meyer Bernard Stern Meyer (June 7, 1916 Baltimore, Maryland – September 3, 2005 Valley Stream, Nassau County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician. Life He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1936, and from University of Maryland S ...

, Burton C. Agata & Seth H. Agata (pages 28f)
''HUGH RICHARD JONES 1914-2001 Court of Appeals: 1973-1984''
Historical Society of the New York Courts. www.nycourts.gov

in NYT on March 6, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Hugh Richard Judges of the New York Court of Appeals 1914 births 2001 deaths Hamilton College (New York) alumni Politicians from Utica, New York Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American judges