Note: This is the fourth part of a multi-part series. You can read the first three installments here and here and here.
Some in the newsmedia have been attempting to portray Judge Jones as a conservative Republican who is devoutly religious. Frankly, I don't care whether Judge Jones is either conservative or religious. My concern is whether he is fair and accurate as a judge. But I do object to the media's transparent attempt to reinvent Judge Jones in order to supply a veneer of credibility to his incredibly biased decision. The media are cultivating the impression that Judge Jones must have been fair and impartial (his sloppy and biased opinion notwithstanding) because he is a deeply-religious conservative who should have been initially sympathetic to the school board and intelligent design.
In reality, there is very little evidence to suggest that Jones is either a conservative or particularly religious.
According to news reports, Judge Jones has described his political mentor as Tom Ridge, a fairly liberal "pro-choice" Republican. Moreover, according to information Judge Jones supplied to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings in 2002, after graduating from college he never became a member of any conservative group, unless one counts the Boy Scouts. He also never became a member of any church or other religious charitable organization.
In addition, Judge Jones does not seem in sync with most conservatives' attitudes toward crime and punishment. During his confirmation hearings, he spoke with pride about defending a murderer of a twelve-year old boy and how he was able to get the murderer spared from the death penalty:
I served for 10 years, Madam Chairwoman, as an assistant public defender in Schuylkill County, and so very frequently I found myself enmeshed in unpopular areas representing unpopular people. In particular, in 1989, I represented an individual who was alleged to have murdered a 12-year-old boy. It was, as you can imagine, coming from a small town, a highly charged atmosphere. We had a week-long trial. I represented him throughout in a most difficult circumstance, with the community at large very much against him. He was convicted. I was able to keep him from suffering the death penalty in that case... I was very proud to do that as an assistant public defender consistent with my obligations as an attorney.
The idea that Judge Jones is somehow devoutly religious apparently derives from one comment he made to The New York Times shortly before he handed down his decision. Asked whether he attends church, he told the reporter that he goes on occasion to a Lutheran church favored by his wife. That may make him a dutiful husband, but it doesn't make him religious, especially since he never became a member of any church or any religious group of any kind.
By the way, although Judge Jones declined to join any religious or conservative groups, he did join the trial lawyers association. At the time of his confirmation, he also was a 20+ year member of a country club. Thus, it might be appropriate to call him a "country club Republican."
Please don't misunderstand me: Judge Jones has every right to be a "country club Republican" if he so chooses, and he certainly has every right to be as religious or non-religious as he wishes. The point here is to challenge the media's effort to turn Judge Jones into something he's not in order to defend a biased and sloppy ruling.
(Note: You can verify for yourself the above information about Judge Jones' memberships and his comments at his confirmation hearing by going to the U.S. Government Printing Office and downloading the pdf version of S. HRG. 107–584, PT. 4, Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments, U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003, Serial No. J–107–23. See especially pp. 73 and 191-192.)