A Tough Act to Follow on the Bench

Ventura County’s Hall of Justice is a bit more somber this week with the passing of Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones, a man remembered as fondly for his dry sense of humor as for his dignity, decency and mastery of the law.

Judge Jones died Tuesday, the day before his 55th birthday, following a risky bone marrow transplant that was the final battle in his three-year war against leukemia.

A former FBI agent and prosecutor, Jones was elected to the Municipal Court in 1979 and appointed to the Superior Court in 1986. His most spectacular case came last year, when he presided over the trial of Diana Haun, lover of Michael Dally, for the ax murder of Dally’s wife, Sherri. He skillfully steered that case to its conclusion and expected to preside over the trial of Dally as well, but failing health forced him to bow out just days before jury selection began. The Dally case was given to Judge Robert Bradley, who was relieved of duties after two arrests on suspicion of drunk driving.

With the loss of Judge Jones and Judge Bradley, the Superior Court now has two vacancies on the bench. As candidates step forward, the spirit of Judge Jones provides a worthy model: knowledgeable, independent, intolerant of nonsense but quick to lighten an impossibly difficult job with a wry joke.

May the rest of us learn from his example.