The Honorable Richard A. Jones has been a United States District Court Judge in Seattle since 2007. He previously served as a judge on the King County Superior Court bench from 1994 to 2007.

Judge Jones is a devoted leader in his community. He served a 9 year appointment to the National Board of the YMCA of the USA and served locally as a Board member for the YMCA of Greater Seattle for over 20 years. He has served on a multitude of local and national boards and advisory groups; recently joining the Seattle Kraken One Roof Foundation Board, as Chair.

Judge Jones co-founded and still participates in Seattle area programs that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion with a focus on students of color. Through these and other educational and professional enhancement programs, Judge Jones has been a mentor to hundreds of students and attorneys of varying levels of academic and professional pursuits.

In 2016, in recognition of his dedicated years of community work Judge Jones was named the recipient of the Charles E. Odegaard Award by the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. Additionally, he received the Ellis Island Award in New York City in 2016, and the American Bar Association’s Diversity Leadership Award in 2019. In 2022, he was honored by Saint Martin’s University with a Distinguished Alumni Award.

During his career, he has received Outstanding Judge Awards from the Washington State Bar Association, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Loren Miller Bar Association, Asian Bar Association of Washington State, and King County Bar Association.

Judge Jones received a Bachelor of Public Affairs from Seattle University and his J.D. from the University of Washington Law School.