All Rise!
The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray
Friday at 7 AM Pacific Time on Voice America Variety Channel
“Financially Responsible”
“Live and Let Live”
“Don’t Tread on Anybody”
Books
Articles
Blunt Force
In this January 31, 2020 article the Los Angeles Daily Journal profiles Judge Gray as a private mediator in Southern California with the byline of “James Gray and attorneys agree the retired judge is unafraid to speak honestly to all parties.
Gray Matters
The Orange County Lawyer magazine celebrated Judge Gray’s being awarded the Orange County Bar Association’s highest honor in January 2020, which is its Lifetime Achievement Award.
An Institutional Approach to Homelessness
In this Op-Ed column published in the November 22, 2019 edition of the Orange County Register newspaper, Judge Gray presents an institutional approach that should resolve most problems with homeless people – which he calls a stain upon who we are as a society.
The Hopelessness of Drug Prohibition
In this article for the Chapman University Law Review published on August 31, 2010, Judge Gray traced his journey from being a “drug warrior” to holding a press conference as a sitting judge calling for a repeal of our nation’s policy of Drug Prohibition, calling it the worst policy in our history, second only to slavery.
Top Ten Drug Policy Goals
In this article for the University of Oregon Law Review in 2013, Judge Gray outlines how these most important goals will all be realized by a program of strictly regulating and controlling these presently illicit substances, but will never be reached by prohibiting them.
Essay: Facing Facts on the Death Penalty
In this article for a Special Issue of the Loyola Marymount University Law Review in 2011, Judge Gray shows how, regardless of a person’s philosophy, the death penalty isn’t working, and will never work.
About Jim Gray
Judge Gray was appointed to the Santa Ana Municipal Court in 1983 by Governor George Deukmejian, and in 1989, Deukmejian elevated Gray to his post with the Superior Court.
Throughout his decades-long career within the legal and judicial community, Jim Gray has not only donated hundreds of hours of volunteer time to existing community service-oriented activities, he also has created and implemented a number of innovative programs of his own, each one a success story in itself.
For instance, it was Jim Gray who introduced Orange County to the Peer Court System, where juvenile defendants travel to a school outside their district to have their actual cases tried by other teenagers.
Gray, who also has worked closely with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, helped form a MADDDUI panel in 1987 whereby defendants were made to listen as victims of drunk driving told their heartbreaking stories. This program is ongoing and has been recognized as one of the most effective within the MADD organization and the court system. Along these lines, as a member of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Program’s Drinking Driving Program Advisory Committee, he recommended treatment programs to combat the DUI problem. To that end, he helped establish a program whereby youthful offenders of drunk driving laws were sentenced to visit the Western Medical Trauma Center. Still today, these youngsters are made to witness the devastating injuries of drunk driving victims. This program is also cosponsored by the Volunteer Center of Orange County, where Gray has served as a board member.
Other such related efforts include his work as a co-founder of “Drive Alive” — along with the Orange County Health Care Agency and MADD — a promotional publicity campaign for students who were invited to compete in writing Public Service Announcements to deter their fellow teens from drunk driving. Students, who win prizes for their efforts, also produced bumper stickers and other promotional materials aimed at the same theme.
Other civic contributions include his work with the “Stay In School” program at both Willard Intermediate and Santa Ana High Schools. Not long ago, Gray was also lauded for his contributions as a co-founder of BLAST (Bert Bylevens Leagues, After School Time) — a program providing children with after school athletics and recreation through the Garden Grove School District, the Garden Grove Police Department, the Orange County Probation Department, and the ministry of the Crystal Cathedral.
Other organizations Judge Gray has helped to found include: the Association of Former U.S. Attorneys, which is a group that meets yearly to share ideas and present keynote speakers; and the William P. Gray / Legion Lex Inn of Court in conjunction with USC Law School, which was founded to increase ethics, education, and professionalism for judges and lawyers.
The son of a highly regarded federal judge, “Judge William P. Gray“, Gray was raised in the Los Angeles area and attended schools in both La Canada and Pasadena. He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1966 and a Juris Doctor from USC in 1971.