This oral history interview with Robert E. Jones was conducted by Clark Hansen at the U.S. District Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, from September 12 to October 14, 2005, as part of the United States District Court Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in five sessions. The first four interview sessions were recorded on audiocassette; the final session was recorded on videocassette. The transcript includes a foreword by Owen Panner and an introduction by Donna Sinclair, as well as several autobiographical addendums by Robert E. Jones.

In this interview, Jones discusses his family background and early life in Portland, including his service in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and his college experiences at the University of Hawaii and at the Northwestern School of Law in Portland. He talks about practicing law from 1953 to 1963, about serving as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court, and about representing Washington County in the Oregon House during the 1963 legislative session. He discusses serving as a justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, and as a judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon.