Hugh Richard Jones was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He graduated from Hamilton College in 1935, and then taught mathematics at the American University in Cairo

American University in Cairo

The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...

. He graduated from Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

 in 1939, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Utica. He married Jean McMillen, and they had five children.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he served in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, and was awarded a Bronze Star Medal

Bronze Star Medal

The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

 with Combat V

Valor device

The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...

. After the war, he resumed his law practice in Utica.

He served on the New York State Board of Social Welfare, and was appointed Chairman by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller in 1964. In 1972, he was President of the New York State Bar Association

New York State Bar Association

The New York State Bar Association , with 77,000 members, is the largest voluntary bar association in the United States.-History:The State Bar was founded with a constitution that dates to 1877...

.

In 1972

New York state election, 1972

The 1972 New York state election was held on November 7, 1972, to elect three judges of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.-Background:...

, he was elected on the Republican and Conservative

Conservative Party of New York

The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party active in the state of New York. It is not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the American Conservative Party, which it predates by over 40 years....

 tickets to the New York Court of Appeals

New York Court of Appeals

The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...

. He retired from the Court of Appeals at the end of 1984 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law with the firm of Hiscock & Barclay in Syracuse, New York

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

, retiring in 1992.

In New York v. Onofre

New York v. Onofre

The People v. Ronald Onofre, 51 N.Y.2d 476, 415 N.E.2d 936, 434 N.Y.S.2d 947 , was a 1981 appeal against New York sodomy laws, decided in the New York Court of Appeals.- Brief summary :...

, a 1980 decision that found the law against sodomy

Sodomy

Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...

 between consenting adults to be unconstitutional, Jones wrote for the 5-to-2 majority: "It is not the function of the penal law to provide for the enforcement of moral or theological values."

Jones was active in the Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church (United States)

The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...

, serving as Chancellor of the bishops of the Diocese of Central New York. He also earned a Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....

 degree from the General Theological Seminary

General Theological Seminary

The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is a seminary of the Episcopal Church in the United States and is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York....

 in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

in 1974.