Stephen Jones (born July 1, 1940), is an attorney who took on a series of high-profile civil rights cases beginning with his defense of a Vietnam War protester. Jones later represented

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third ...

, and then the fraternity involved in the 2015 University of Oklahoma Sigma Alpha Epsilon racism incident.

Biography

Stephen Jones was born on July 1, 1940 in Lafayette, Louisiana. His father was an oil field supplies sales manager and his mother was the bookkeeper for a wealthy financier. Jones grew up in suburban

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, received a law degree from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

in 1966 and settled in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

where he still lives. Jones was a member of

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...

and served as Associate Editor of the Oklahoma Bar Journal from 1979 to 1986. He has been married to his wife Sherrel for the last 40 years and they have raised four children.

Legal career

On May 5, 1970, the day after National Guardsmen had shot and killed four students at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

, Keith Green was arrested at the

for carrying a

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

flag in violation of a state law prohibiting the display of a " red flag or emblem of anarchy or rebellion". After 12 lawyers had refused to defend the student, Jones took the case and was promptly dismissed from the

law firm where he was employed. Jones argued in court that the disloyalty statute was unconstitutional and the judge dismissed the case, overturning the statute. Later Jones would go on to represent Abbie Hoffman, the radical

Yippie The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on ...

, when

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

refused to let him speak on campus. Jones ran unsuccessfully for public office four times, including a U.S. Senate race against

David L. Boren David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senat ...

in 1990. In 1995, Stephen Jones became the lead defense attorney for Timothy McVeigh, who was charged with the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...

. McVeigh wanted to use the "

necessity defense In the criminal law of many nations, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the law. Defendants seeking to rely on this defense argue that they should not be held liable for their actions as a crime ...

", but Jones took a different tack, even traveling to other countries in search of evidence because he believed that McVeigh did not act alone in the bombing. McVeigh went on trial in 1997, was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death, and was executed in 2001. Defense attorney and law professor

David Bruck David Isaac Bruck (born 1949) is a Canadian-American criminal defense attorney, clinical professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, and director of the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse. Bruck was raised in Montreal, Queb ...

uses Stephen Jones' post-trial actions as an example, though, of what lawyers should not do in representing a client or guarding attorney-client privileges. Jones served as the attorney for a former House page involved in the

Mark Foley scandal The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on soliciting emails and sexually suggestive instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congre ...

. He also served as the defense lawyer for Raye Dawn Smith in the trial concerning the rampant abuse and eventual murder of her daughter Kelsey Smith-Briggs. In 2015 Jones was hired by the fraternity chapter involved in the 2015 University of Oklahoma Sigma Alpha Epsilon racism incident to explore the chapter's legal options.

Areas of practice

Bar admissions

* 1966, Oklahoma * 1969, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit and U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma * 1970, U.S. Tax Court and U.S. Supreme Court * 1973, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit * 1975, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit and U.S. Court of Appeals, *District of Columbia * 1979, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma * 1980, U.S. Claims Court * 1982, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit

Publications

* "John W. Davis," Oklahoma Law Review Vol. 27 No. 1, Winter, 1974 * "The Case Against Presidential Impeachment," Oklahoma Bar Association Journal, Oklahoma Criminal Defense form book, 1974 * "Oklahoma Politics," Vol. I, 1907-1962 * "Was President Nixon Guilty: The Case For The Defense," Oklahoma Bar Association Journal, Winter 1978 * "Vernon's Oklahoma Forms, 2d: Criminal Law, Practice & Procedure," West Group, 1999 * "U.S. v. McVeigh: Defending the 'Most Hated Man in America,'" Oklahoma Law Review Vol. 51 No. 4, Winter, 1998 * "A Lawyer's Ethical Duty to Represent the Unpopular Client," Chapman Law Review Vol. 1 No. 1. Spring, 1998 * "Representing Timothy McVeigh", Litigation, Spring, 2002, Vol. 28, Number 3.

Books

* ''Others Unknown: The Oklahoma City Bombing Case and Conspiracy'', , with Peter Israel, 2001

Professional positions

* Chester Bedell Memorial Lecturer, "The Independence of American Lawyers," The Florida Bar, 1999. * Assistant Professor,

, 1973-1976 * Adjunct Professor,

Phillips University Phillips University was a private university Enid, Oklahoma. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary. The university wa ...

, 1983-1990 * Secretary, Minority Conference, Texas Legislature, 1960-1961 * Assistant to Honorable

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, New York, 1964 * Administrative Assistant, Congressman

Paul Findley Paul Augustus Findley (June 23, 1921 – August 9, 2019) was an American writer and politician. He served as United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1960. A moderate Rep ...

, Washington, D.C., 1966-1969 * Legal Assistant to Governor of Oklahoma, 1967 * Member, U.S. Delegation to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(North Atlantic Assembly), 1968 * Special Assistant District Attorney, 1977 * Member, State Supreme Court Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, 1979-1981 * Special United States Attorney, Northern District of Oklahoma, 1979 * Special Counsel to the

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex of ...

, 1995 * Member, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Advisory Committee on Court Rules, 1980 * Judge of Temporary Division, Oklahoma Court of Appeals, 1982 * Republican Nominee,

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 ...

, 1990

Notes

References

* *
The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh
Gore Vidal, September 2001

External links

Voices of Oklahoma interview with Stephen Jones.
First person interview conducted on January 27, 2010, with Stephen Jones. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Stephen 1940 births Living people Oklahoma City bombing Oklahoma lawyers Oklahoma Republicans Criminal defense lawyers University of Oklahoma alumni University of Oklahoma faculty Phillips University faculty Lawyers from Enid, Oklahoma 20th-century American lawyers