William P. Gray; U.S. Judge Ruled on Jail Overcrowding

U.S. District Judge William P. Gray, an affable and influential jurist who cut his teeth on an important case involving the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and went on to oversee jail overcrowding crises in Los Angeles and Orange counties, died at home in Pasadena late Monday night of a malignant brain tumor. He was 79.

Gray, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1966, won acclaim for his legal scholarship, his devotion to the law and his determination to protect the rights of prisoners.

“His motto, which carried back to his days as a Cub Scout leader, was, ‘Do your best,’ ” said Gray’s son, Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray.

A native of Los Angeles, Gray graduated from UCLA in 1934 and received a law degree from Harvard University. After serving in the Army, he returned to private practice in Los Angeles.

In 1958, Gray was asked to serve as a special counsel advising the U.S. attorney general about oil companies and their operations at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. His pursuit of the case eventually resulted in lawsuits against the oil companies, and the settlement forced companies to pump water into the oil wells to prevent the shipyard from sinking below sea level.

The case brought Gray headlines and won him the admiration of officials in the Justice Department. In 1966, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Gray to the federal bench.

During his tenure, Gray ruled on hundreds of cases, but none more notable than the jail overcrowding cases in Los Angeles and Orange counties. He consistently intervened to protect prisoners’ rights, often chastising the local governments for inhumane conditions within their jail systems.

Gray had his critics. Some conservatives faulted him for imposing light sentences, and some Orange County officials grumbled that he had been unduly harsh in his jail overcrowding rulings. He ordered the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to improve jail conditions in 1978, and in later years found Sheriff Brad Gates and members of the Board of Supervisors guilty of contempt of court for violating his orders.

Gray retired from the federal bench last year, when the effects of a then-benign brain tumor were making it increasingly difficult for him to communicate from the bench.

His condition worsened and the tumor turned malignant. Nevertheless, until a few weeks ago he was still touching bases with former colleagues and pursuing volunteer work as a counselor at John Muir High School in Pasadena.

In addition to his son, Gray is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a daughter, Robin Gray Frazier, and five grandchildren.

The family has asked that any donations be sent to the William P. Gray Computer Learning Center at John Muir High School, care of RX for Reading, 300 S. Grand Ave., 29th Floor, Los Angeles 90071.

A memorial service will be held Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena.