Federal judge spurred to new heights

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003 | 9:18 a.m.

When he was formally welcomed into his new role as U.S. District Court judge on Monday, Robert Clive Jones was given a pair of spurs by former Clark County District Attorney George Holt.

Jones' father, also a lawyer, had once given the spurs to Holt, the former DA said.

The message that came with the spurs was: "You can ride roughshod if you have to," said Holt, who practiced law with both Jones and Jones' father.

Jones, 56, had been a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge for more than 20 years prior to Dec. 1, when he took on his new duties.

Jones, who was born and raised in Las Vegas, was recommended for the post by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and was nominated to the bench by President Bush on June 10. The Senate confirmed Jones on Oct. 2.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd George said Jones' selection for the federal post came as no surprise.

"You've gained the respect and admiration of judges, senators and the president of the United States to name a few," George said during Monday's ceremony. "I can think of no one more intellectually capable or more qualified than you."

A representative from Sen. Harry Reid's office read from a letter Reid, D-Nev., wrote for Monday's investiture ceremony at the George Federal Building.

"Judge Jones brings to the job strong values that most Nevadans share," Reid wrote. "Values based in a strong family and a strong community."

Jones graduated from Brigham Young University with honors in accounting and then attended law school at UCLA where he was associate editor of the law review.

After clerking for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' Judge J. Clifford Wallace, Jones practiced law from 1976 to 1983. He was appointed as a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in February 1983.

In November 1986 Jones was also appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the 9th Circuit, on which he served until 1999.