[3] Jones graduated from Hampton University[3] in 1965, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science.
[3] After working for the Legal Aid Society and as an attorney in private practice, Jones was first elected to the New York Supreme Court in 1989.
After Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union violated Jones's injunction and held New York City’s first transit strike in 25 years, Jones "fined the union $2.5 million and sentenced its president, Roger Toussaint, to 10 days in jail for contempt of court".
[3] Jones was appointed as an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals by then-Governor Eliot Spitzer in January 2007.
[7] In 2009, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman appointed Jones to co-lead the Justice Task Force, which was formed in an effort to reduce the incidence of wrongful convictions.