James Uriah Downs, sometimes known as Jud Downs (born September 15, 1941), is an attorney and retired senior resident superior court judge of North Carolina.
His jurisdiction included five counties of District 30A in the 8th Judicial Division of the western part of the state.
A Democrat, Down was appointed to the court in 1983 by then Governor James B.
Hunt.
After Downs retired from the bench in 2013, he returned to the private practice of law.
He had an office in his adopted city of Franklin in Macon County.