Jerrauld Jones

Jerrauld Corey Jones (July 22, 1954 – May 31, 2025) was an American politician and jurist. He was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1988 to 2002, representing the 89th District in Norfolk. In 2002, Jones was made Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice under Governor Mark Warner. He then served as a judge as a judge in the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, before ultimately becoming a judge of the Norfolk Circuit Court. He remains one of few people in Virginia history to served in all three branches of state government. Jones' father was a prominent African-American lawyer in Norfolk during the 1950s, the era of massive resistance to school integration in Virginia, and who also became the first Black person to serve as a member of the Norfolk School Board. His mother was a school teacher who was also instrumental in Norfolk school integration. In 1969, Hilary Jones Jr. was appointed to the Virginia state Board of Education, becoming the first Black person to be named to the board in the history of Virginia.

In 2001, Jones ran in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He finished third behind the eventual winner, Richmond Mayor Tim Kaine, and Delegate Alan Diamonstein of Newport News. Following this defeat, he ran for reelection to the House, winning his eighth term in November.

In June 2002, Governor Mark Warner appointed Jones state Director of Juvenile Justice until 2005. In this capacity he oversaw all adjudicated youths in the juvenile detention system in Virginia.

Judicial career In 2005, then-Governor Warner appointed Jones a judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. In October 2008, Governor Kaine appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Norfolk Circuit Court. Jones was elected to a full eight-year term by the legislature during the 2009 General Assembly session and re-elected for a second 8-year term during the 2017 General Assembly session. Amid ongoing health issues, Jones opted to retire from the Norfolk Circuit Court in 2024. Jones' widow Lyn, who was still his wife at the time of his,

Death Jones died May 31, 2025, at the age of 70. In November 2025, Jones would be honored by his son Jay in his victory speech after winning the 2025 Virginia Attorney General election. His widow Lyn, herself a judge, would afterwards swear their son Jay, who became the first Black Virginia Attorney General,