Judge Jones has served on the Kentucky Court of Appeals since April 2024. Prior to that, she presided over the Daviess County Circuit Court and served as a District Court Judge from 2001 to 2019. Judge Jones was the first woman elected as a judge in Daviess County.
She served as Chief Judge of both the Daviess District and Daviess Circuit Courts. As a District Judge, she presided over the juvenile drug court and served on the state Juvenile Justice Task Force and the Juvenile Justice Oversight Commission, receiving appointments from governors of both parties. As a Circuit Judge, she presided over adult drug court, Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT/Tim’s Law), and Mental Health Court. Judge Jones led a collaboration of community partners to create the Daviess County Mental Health Court, which serves individuals with low intellectual functioning or serious mental illness who have pending felony cases or are on felony probation.
Her work in juvenile justice has earned Judge Jones national attention. She has presented on the topic to the Coalition on Juvenile Justice, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National Association of Women in Corrections, the National Center for State Courts, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Association of Family and Juvenile Court Judges. She has served the Kentucky judiciary by contributing to the drafting of Kentucky’s Family Court and Juvenile Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, an effort that earned her the Chief Justice’s Award for Special Services, presented at the 2015 Kentucky Bar Convention.
Currently, Judge Jones serves on Kentucky’s Judicial Commission on Mental Health, where she chairs the Juvenile Justice Workgroup. She also co-chairs the state’s Certification Advisory Committee, which updated Kentucky’s Rules of Practice for Adult Drug Court and is currently drafting uniform rules for all of Kentucky’s specialty courts.
Before taking the bench, Judge Jones practiced law with the firm Sheffer–Hoffman, focusing on medical malpractice defense. She also served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, prosecuting cases ranging from sexual assault to robbery, burglary, and murder. Judge Jones graduated from Brescia University in 1993, where she has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus. She earned her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1996 and has participated in the Leadership Owensboro and Leadership Kentucky programs.
Judge Jones is married to Greg Jones, and they have two children, Will and Annie. Judge Jones and her husband met through Theatre Workshop of Owensboro, and their family continues to support a variety of performing arts, both onstage and off.