DJ profiles retired PJ Jones

 Today's DJ has Trailblazing appellate justice recalls when Ginsburg supported her dissenting opinion: 1st District Court of Appeal Justice Barbara J.R. Jones retired Sept. 30 after 28 years on the bench

• More than a decade ago, Ginsburg wrote a majority opinion siding with Jones, who had written a dissent declaring her opinion that portions of California's determinate sentencing law were unconstitutional. Cunningham v. California, 549 U.S. 270 (2007).
• A New Jersey native, she graduated from Duke University with a degree in history in 1965 and graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1974. She remained in the Bay Area and worked for several firms until she was appointed to the San Francisco County Superior Court by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1992. Four years later, Wilson appointed her to the Court of Appeal. Jones was named presiding justice in 1998.
• Jones said she still has a few pending matters to address and plans to continue serving on the advisory committee for the Code of Judicial Ethics, a position she was given by the California Supreme Court in 1995.
• "She was the first woman to be appointed a presiding justice in the First District and she led her division with a passion for justice and with a commitment to the fair and prompt resolution of cases," [APJ] Humes wrote in an email. "She was an inspiration not only to women and lawyers, but also to her colleagues and friends on the court."