Edith Hollan Jones (born April 7, 1949) is a United States circuit judge and the former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Jones was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on February 27, 1985, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 3, 1985, and received commission on April 4, 1985. Jones served as chief judge of the Fifth Circuit from 2006 to 2012. Education and career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jones graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1971. She received her Juris Doctor from University of Texas School of Law in 1974, where she was a member of the Texas Law Review. She was in private practice in Houston, Texas, from 1974 until 1985, working for the firm of Andrews, Kurth, Campbell & Jones, where she became the firm's first female partner. She specialized in bankruptcy law. She also served as general counsel for the Republican Party of Texas from 1982 to 1983. Federal judicial service Jones was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on February 27, 1985, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 98 Stat. 333. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 3, 1985, and received commission on April 4, 1985, at the age of 35. She served as chief judge from January 16, 2006, to October 1, 2012, succeeding Carolyn Dineen King. Other service She sits on the board of directors of the Boy Scouts of America and the Garland Walker American Inns of Court. In 2010, Jones visited Iraq as part of the U.S. State Department's Rule of Law program, where she advised and encouraged Iraqi and Kurdish judges. Supreme Court consideration Jones has been mentioned frequently as being on the list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States. A 1990 report from The New York Times cited her as George H.W. Bush's second choice for the Supreme Court vacancy filled by Justice David Souter. The Chicago Sun-Times and several other newspapers reported on July 1, 2005, that she had also been considered for nomination to the Supreme Court during the presidency of George W. Bush. Legal philosophy In her opinions, she has questioned the legal reasoning which legalized abortion, advocated streamlining death penalty cases,