As a quiet man devoted to helping others, Okla Jones II had many accomplishments in his legal career. He not only served as New Orleans’ first Black city attorney, but he also was elected as a Civil District Court judge, and was appointed as a federal judge by President Bill Clinton.
According to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Jones was a hardworking, competent and fair judge. “Judge Jones was in constant study. … He took pride in helping others and making a way for others to realize their potential,” a bio on the court’s website states. “He maintained an evenhanded temperament at all times, respecting all, understanding all.”
Born Sept. 23, 1945 in Natchitoches, Jones graduated first in his 1964 Central High School class. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern University in Baton Rouge in 1968 and a law degree from Boston College in 1971.
Before New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy appointed him city attorney in 1986, Jones had numerous positions. To name a few, he was a staff attorney with the Orleans Indigent Defender Program; director of the Tulane Law School Employment Discrimination Clinic; and special counsel to the New Orleans City Council.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Jones’ federal bench appointment on Oct. 7, 1994. Former U.S. Sen. John Breaux said “he proved to be one of the brightest and hardest-working judges in our nation’s judiciary.”
Jones served as a federal judge for less than two years. He died from leukemia on Jan. 8, 1996.
“Judge Jones’ untimely death represented a great loss not only to his family but also to our justice system and to our community,” the court states. “A life such as this will never end but will live forever in the memories of … all those whose lives he indelibly marked.”