Jerrauld Corey Jones (born July 22, 1954) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

and jurist. He was a Democratic member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

1988-2002, representing the 89th District in Norfolk. He is currently a judge of the Norfolk Circuit Court.

Early life

Jones' father was a prominent

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

lawyer in Norfolk during the 1950s, the era of massive resistance to school integration in Virginia. In 1961, young Jerrauld became one of the first African-American students at his elementary school. In 1967, he went on to integrate the private Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg. Jones received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree cum laude from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1976. In 1980 he graduated from the

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley regi ...

with a J.D. degree. That same year, he became the first African-American law clerk to the Supreme Court of Virginia. He subsequently returned to Norfolk and served as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for two years before opening up a private law practice. He remained in private practice until 2002, when he became Director of Juvenile Justice.

Political career

In 1987, Jones was elected to the

from the 89th District when the incumbent, Yvonne Miller, chose to run for the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

instead. He was reelected seven times, and eventually became a member of the Rules Committee. In 2001, Jones ran in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He finished third behind the eventual winner, Richmond

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...

, and Delegate

Alan Diamonstein Alan Arnold Diamonstein (August 20, 1931 – October 17, 2019) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician. Diamonstein served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1968 to 2002, representing parts of Newport News. Diamonstein ch ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

. Following this defeat, he ran for reelection to the House, winning his eighth term in November. In June 2002, Governor Mark Warner appointed Jones state Director of Juvenile Justice until 2005. In this capacity he oversaw all adjudicated youths in the juvenile detention system in Virginia.

Judicial career

In 2005, then-Governor Warner appointed Jones a judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. In December 2008, Governor Kaine appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Norfolk Circuit Court. Jones was elected to a full 8-year term by the legislature during the 2009 General Assembly session and re-elected for a second 8-year term during the 2017 General Assembly session.

Notes

External links

Virginia Public Access Project: Jerrauld C Jones
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jerrauld Corey 1954 births Living people African-American state legislators in Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Princeton University alumni Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American judges Virginia circuit court judges