Meet Judge Daniel Jones
Judge Daniel Jones makes his home in Fredericksburg with his wife Meghann. They have four daughters who are attending Fredericksburg ISD schools and St. Mary's Catholic School. Judge Jones has been serving as the Gillespie County Judge since January 1, 2023.
Judge Jones graduated from Allen High School (Allen, TX), before heading off to Wichita Falls for his undergraduate degree. After attending law school at the University of Tulsa, he returned home to Texas and started practicing law. Today, Judge Jones has been practicing law for over 19 years, with a majority of that time serving local government entities.
For six years (2008-2014), he worked as an Assistant County Attorney in Montgomery County, Texas, providing legal counsel to elected officials, and earning a reputation as an in-house authority on county operations law. As an attorney in the Government Affairs section of the County Attorney's Office, he provided legal counsel to elected officials and department heads serving Montgomery County, including the Commissioners Court, the County Sheriff, the District Clerk, the County Clerk, the County Auditor, the County Treasurer, and the County Tax Assessor-Collector. He attended over 135 Commissioners Court meetings as a legal advisor to the Court. Areas of his practice included drafting and negotiating government contracts, the Texas Open Meeting Act, procurement of goods and services, drafting county ordinances and policies, tax abatements, the Texas Public Funds Investment Act, county parks, emergency management, county libraries, budgeting, and the county owned Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport (formerly named Lone Star Executive Airport).
In 2015, Judge Jones was appointed as the Presiding Judge for the City of Fredericksburg Municipal Court. Serving as the Municipal Judge for two years (2015 - 2017), he presided over adjudication of approximately 2,500 cases while on the bench, including initial appearance dockets, pretrial hearings, bench trials and jury trials. In addition to work in the courtroom, he served daily as a magistrate at the Gillespie County Jail, and performed after-hours and weekend magistrate duties for all Gillespie County law enforcement agencies. His additional duties at the Municipal Court included directing and managing daily services and operations of the Municipal Court, the management and evaluation of the Municipal Court Clerk operations, participated in the development and administration of the department’s budget, and approving expenditures and implementing budgetary adjustments as appropriate and necessary.
From 2017 to 2022, Judge Jones served as the City Attorney for the City of Fredericksburg. As the City Attorney, Judge Jones provided complex legal, executive, and administrative support to elected officials and senior City management. He provided legal advice on municipal activities and operations and advised staff concerning legal compliance of City operations, policies, procedures, and activities.
He attended all City Council meetings, including executive sessions, as legal advisor to the City. His other duties included legal representation for the City in court proceedings and the drafting of a variety of legal documents for the City, including ordinances and resolutions.
He directed and managed the services and operations of the City’s legal department, including coordination with outside legal counsel when required. His areas of practice were varied and included drafting and negotiating government contracts and Interlocal agreements, ensuring compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act, and managing the procurement of goods and services. He also oversaw legal matters related to municipal parks, zoning, and development regulations.