Honored guest

Honorable Richard A. Jones, HS’68, commencement speaker

Forty years ago, the Honorable Richard A. Jones graduated from Saint Martin’s High School. He returns to Saint Martin’s today, just two years after receiving the 2006 Saint Martin’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, as a United States District Court Judge for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.

Judge Jones’ appointment to the federal judiciary in October 2007 — an appointment that won extensive praise and bipartisan support — is the latest milestone in an illustrious career.

After receiving his high school diploma from Saint Martin’s in 1968, Jones earned a B.A. in public affairs from Seattle University and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law. He went on to work as a staff attorney for the Port of Seattle, an associate with Seattle-based law firm Bogle & Gates, a deputy prosecutor for King County and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington before being appointed as King County Superior Court Judge in 1994.

Jones has received countless accolades for his work as a lawyer and judge. In 2004, he was named Judge of the Year by the Washington State Bar Association, the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, the Asian Bar Association of Washington State and the King County Bar Association. He also has received the Washington State Bar Association’s Special Recognition Award and the King County Bar Association’s Affirmative Action Award. In 2001, he was presented with the prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award by the Loren Miller Bar Association, which supports the social and economic well-being of its predominately African-American members.

Beyond the courtroom, Jones is well known for his commitment to education, community service and civic activities. He frequently lectures at regional legal education programs and has been an instructor at the United States Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, the Executive Office of the United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., and the Washington State Judicial College, where he served as Dean in 1997 and 1998. Judge Jones is also a faculty member at the National Judicial College and the National Center for Courts and Media. He serves on several boards and committees, including the Seattle University Board of Regents, the University of Washington Law School Advisory Committee and the board of the YMCA of Greater Seattle, and has been active in programs honoring Thurgood Marshall and Brown v. Board of Education.