--- title: "James Parker Jones | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-parker-jones" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # James Parker Jones U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia - State: Virginia - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Virginia, 1996-present - Judge, U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) — 2015–2022 - Judge, U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court — 2016–2021 - Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia — Assumed senior status August 30, 2021, after serving from 1996 to 2021. - Chief Judge of the Western District of Virginia from 2004 to 2010 - Law clerk to Judge Clement Haynsworth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1966–1968) - Assistant attorney general, Commonwealth of Virginia, 1965-1966 - American lawyer and jurist currently serving as a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia ### Education - University of Virginia School of Law — 1965 - Duke University — Psychology — B.A. (1962) ### Additional information - Jones handled over 5,000 district court cases between 1993 and 2026, with a median case resolution time of about 251 days. - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2007-2011 - Hinen (2007). - Confirmed by the Senate on July 18, 1996; commissioned August 1, 1996. - Member, Virginia State Board of Education, 1990-1996 - Nominated by President Bill Clinton on December 12, 1995, to fill the seat vacated by James Harry Michael Jr.. - Private practice, Bristol, Virginia, 1971-1995 - Private practice in Abingdon, VA (1968–1971) and Bristol, VA (1971–1995). - State senator, Virginia, 1983-1988 - Earlier, in 1979, President Jimmy Carter nominated him to the same seat, but the nomination expired before Senate action. - Private practice, Abingdon, Virginia, 1968-1971 - Born July 3, 1940, in Tampa, Florida. - Date of birth: 1940-01-01 - Notable cases include United States v. - His appellate record shows that of 380 reviewed decisions, 323 were affirmed. - Birth place: Tampa, FL ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382911) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382911) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382911) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1657/james-parker-jones/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1657/james-parker-jones/) - [Judge James Parker Jones](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382911) - [Wikidata: James Parker Jones](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6140936) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-parker-jones", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-parker-jones", "name": "James Parker Jones | KnowJudges", "description": "James Parker Jones, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.