John Bailey Jones (March 30, 1927 – January 30, 2023) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 census making it the sixth most populous city in South Dakota. Mitchell is the principal city of the Mitchell Micr ...

, Jones was in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

from 1945 to 1947. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from the University of South Dakota in 1951 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1953. He was in private practice in Presho, South Dakota from 1953 to 1966. He was a county judge of

Lyman County Lyman County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,718. Its county seat is Kennebec. Lyman County was created by the Dakota Territorial Legislature on January 8, 1873, but was not o ...

, South Dakota from 1953 to 1956. He was a South Dakota state representative from 1956 to 1960. He was a circuit judge of the South Dakota Tenth Judicial Circuit from 1967 to 1974. He was a circuit judge of the South Dakota Sixth Judicial Circuit from 1974 to 1981.

Federal judicial service

On October 20, 1981, Jones was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota vacated by Judge

Fred Joseph Nichol Fred Joseph Nichol (March 19, 1912 – December 31, 1996) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Education and career Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Nichol received an Artium Baccalau ...

. Jones was confirmed by the

United States Senate 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 pow ...

on November 18, 1981, and received his commission the same day. He served as chief judge from 1991 to 1994. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on January 1, 1995.

Personal life and death

Jones died in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on January 30, 2023, at the age of 95.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, John Bailey 1927 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives Military personnel from South Dakota People from Mitchell, South Dakota People from Presho, South Dakota South Dakota state court judges United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy reservists University of South Dakota alumni University of South Dakota School of Law alumni