James French Patton (September 19, 1843 – March 30, 1882) was an American lawyer, Confederate army officer, and Democratic politician who briefly served on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

At the age of 18, he joined the Confederate States Army as a private in the 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, led by his brother George S. Patton Sr.

[1][2][citation needed] After the war, he returned to Virginia and studied law under his brother-in-law John Gilmer of Pittyslvania County.

In 1870, he joined a law partnership with Allen T. Caperton and relocated to Union in Monroe County, West Virginia, after his marriage.

On June 1, 1881, Governor Jacob B. Jackson appointed Patton to a vacated seat on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia caused by the retirement of Justice Charles Page Thomas Moore.