Woodie Jones is a native of Central Texas. After graduating from Stephen F. Austin High School, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, just blocks from the home where he grew up. He received his B.A. in the Plan II Honors Program in 1972, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1975 and earned an LL.M. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. He has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 1975.
After law school, he accepted a judicial clerkship in Houston. He then practiced law with the firm of Bracewell & Patterson in Houston from 1976 to 1981. He returned to Austin in 1981, where he was a partner with Sneed, Vine, Wilkerson, Selman & Perry from 1981 to 1988.
Woodie was elected in 1988 as a Justice on the Third Court of Appeals, where he served until the end of 2000. He was highly respected as a jurist by members of the bench and bar. In a 1993 Austin Bar Association survey asking the lawyers of Travis County to evaluate the performance of 37 central Texas state, county, and federal judges at various levels, he was the top-rated justice of the Third Court of Appeals and the third-highest-rated judge overall. In the Bar Association's next survey, conducted in 1999, he was the top-rated judge on the entire survey (out of 36). In his twelve years on the Third Court, Woodie authored more than 1,500 opinions and participated in deciding roughly 5,000 appeals. During his last two years on the court, he served as the Senior Justice, presiding over one of the court's three-judge panels.
Active in the Austin Bar Association, Woodie has served on the board of directors and held various offices, including president in 1987–88. He has been a frequent speaker and author for continuing legal education programs, most often in the areas of judicial decision-making and appellate advocacy. He is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. For the last four years he has been selected by Texas Monthly magazine as a "Texas Super Lawyer" in the area of appellate law. Only five percent of Texas lawyers receive this selection.
When he is not working, Woodie enjoys reading, playing golf, and exercising. He is very active in his church, where he has served as president of the board of directors. He is currently the president of the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Austin, is a member of the Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court, and is on the host committee of Monday Connection, a group associated with the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest.
Woodie and his wife, Linda , have been married for 32 years. They have three children, Monica Atkinson, Jeremy Jones, and Jennifer Morrison. Woodie and Linda also have a three-year-old grandson, Christopher Atkinson, and an infant granddaughter, Mallory Atkinson..
The Jones Family THEN (1988):
and NOW (2006):
Political adv. paid for by the Woodie Jones Campaign, 515 Congress Avenue Suite 1720, Austin, TX 78701,
J. Chrys Dougherty, Treasurer, in compliance with the voluntary limits of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.
Woodie was elected in 1988 as a Justice on the Third Court of Appeals, where he served until the end of 2000. He was highly respected as a jurist by members of the bench and bar. In a 1993 Austin Bar Association survey asking the lawyers of Travis County to evaluate the performance of 37 central Texas state, county, and federal judges at various levels, he was the top-rated justice of the Third Court of Appeals and the third-highest-rated judge overall. In the Bar Association's next survey, conducted in 1999, he was the top-rated judge on the entire survey (out of 36). In his twelve years on the Third Court, Woodie authored more than 1,500 opinions and participated in deciding roughly 5,000 appeals. During his last two years on the court, he served as the Senior Justice, presiding over one of the court's three-judge panels. 
Active in the Austin Bar Association, Woodie has served on the board of directors and held various offices, including president in 1987–88. He has been a frequent speaker and author for continuing legal education programs, most often in the areas of judicial decision-making and appellate advocacy. He is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. For the last four years he has been selected by Texas Monthly magazine as a "Texas Super Lawyer" in the area of appellate law. Only five percent of Texas lawyers receive this selection. 
