Doug Jones
- This article is about the attorney. For other people with similar names, see Douglas Jones.
Gordon Douglas Jones (born May 4, 1954 in Birmingham) is a lawyer, former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and U.S. Senator from Alabama.
Jones, the son of Gordon and Gloria Jones, grew up in Fairfield. After his freshman year in college he was injured in an accident while working in the cotton tie mill at U.S. Steel's Fairfield Works.
Jones earned his undergraduate degree from University of Alabama in 1976 and his law degree from Cumberland School of Law in 1979. He campaigned for Senator Howell Heflin in 1978 and worked in Heflin's office as staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for a year.
Jones returned to Birmingham to serve as an assistant in the U.S. Attorney's office, leaving in 1984 to work in private practice. After the death of Claude Harris, President Clinton appointed Jones to replace him as district attorney. Jones served from 1997 to 2001. During his tenure, Jones coordinated the joint state and federal task force investigating the 1998 bombing of the New Woman All Women Clinic in Southside, and later prosecuted Tommy Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry for murder for their involvement in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church.
Jones left office in 2001 and returned to private practice. He defended UAB in a civil suit brought by former student Brittany Benefield claiming that university officials and employees failed to protect her from sexual abuse and statutory rape on campus. The suit was settled in 2003.
Jones was appointed a General Special Master for an environmental clean-up case in Anniston involving Monsanto. He also defended Chris McNair, father of one of the four victims of the church bombing, in criminal prosecution related to the Jefferson County sewer construction scandal.
In 2013, Jones left the firm of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker to partner with Greg Hawley in the new firm of Jones & Hawley. Jones ran as a Democrat in the 2017 special election to fill the seat left by Jeff Sessions' appointment to lead the U.S. Department of Justice. He carried the August 15 primary with two-thirds of the Democratic vote and faced Republican candidate Roy Moore in the December 12 general election. He won the hotly-contested race by a narrow margin. During his campaign, Jones focused on "kitchen table" issues, such as health care and the economy, as well as supporting a strong national defense.
Jones was sworn into office on January 3, 2018. He hired Dana Gresham as his chief of staff. On January 9 he was assigned to four Senate committees: Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP); Banking; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging.
Jones married the former Louise New in 1992. They have three children: Christopher, Carson and Courtney. He is a long-time member of Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook.
| Preceded by: Walter Braswell (interim) |
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama 1995-2001 |
Succeeded by: Alice Martin |
| Preceded by: Luther Strange |
U.S. Senator from Alabama January 3, 2018-2021 |
Succeeded by: Tommy Tuberville |
References
- Faulk, Kent (June 7, 2013) "Birmingham attorneys Doug Jones and Greg Hawley form law firm." The Birmingham News
- Remkus, Ashley (June 14, 2017) "Birmingham lawyer and former Clinton appointee Doug Jones seeks Democratic nomination for Senate." The Birmingham News
- Garrison, Greg (September 28, 2017) "Son of a steelworker, Doug Jones works to connect with Alabama voters." The Birmingham News
- Yurkanin, Amy (November 21, 2017) "Accuser in UAB sex abuse case calls out Jones for 'hypocrisy' for position on Moore accusers." The Birmingham News
External links
- Doug Jones campaign website
- Doug Jones at Project Vote Smart