Doug Jones

This article is about the attorney. For other people with similar names, see Douglas Jones.

Doug Jones

Gordon Douglas Jones (born May 4, 1954 in Birmingham) is a lawyer, former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when Jeff Sessions was appointed Attorney General of the United States.

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 him to replace him as district attorney. He 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 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 faces Republican candidate Roy Moore in the December 12 general election. During his campaign, Jones has focused on "kitchen table" issues, such as health care and the economy, as well as supporting strong national defense.

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

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

External links

• Doug Jones campaign website
• Doug Jones at Project Vote Smart