O.C. Judge’s Drug Proposal Sparks Debate

He doesn’t remember the name, but Judge James P. Gray will never forget the face of the 17-year-old youth who appeared before him four years ago in Division 311 of Orange County Municipal Court on drug charges.

“I could pick him out of a lineup right now. He was one bad guy,” Gray recalled. “He would beat up prostitutes, steal from them, sell drugs. . . . No conscience. He was so involved in criminal activities that he was going to be tried as adult.”

But what made the teen-ager so memorable for Gray was his reaction when Gray certified another judge’s plea agreement that gave the youth only 90 days in County Jail.

“After I was done with him, he let out a big war whoop,” Gray said. “He was so pleased that was all he got.”

Gray looks back on that incident as a turning point in his life--the moment that he finally realized that the so-called “war on drugs” was a farce and that “the bad guys were winning.”

Two weeks ago, the 47-year-old Superior Court judge immersed himself in controversy, risking his career and reputation by advocating the legalization of adult usage of marijuana, cocaine and heroin. He claims that such a plan would ease courtroom congestion and overcrowded jails, as well as eventually lead to a decrease in drug use.

“The system just doesn’t work,” he said. “Look at Division 311.”

Indeed, a seemingly endless stream of defendants facing drug charges passed through Division 311 last week, much as they did four years ago when Gray presided in the courtroom where arraignments and preliminary hearings take place.

On one afternoon alone, half a dozen young men, all facing maximum prison terms of at least five years, pleaded guilty to drug charges and were offered jail time and probation. For example:

* Rogelio H. Diaz, 21, of Santa Ana pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to sell. He will be given 120 days in jail and three years’ probation.

* Walter Mendez, 28, of Santa Ana pleaded guilty to possession and transportation of cocaine. He will be given 90 days in jail, three years’ probation.

* Maricio Meneses Tamayo, 24, of Santa Ana pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to sell. He will be given 180 days in jail and three years’ probation.

With good time credits, they will probably serve only half their jail time--or they may get an early release because of jail overcrowding.

Court officials say that about 325 cases a month go through Division 311. Of those cases, more than 75% are drug-related, they said. It is a busy courtroom that hears felony arraignments and preliminary hearings before cases can be bound over to Superior Court for trial.

To Gray, Division 311 represents everything wrong with the way society deals with drugs and drug abusers. His six-month stint in that courtroom, he said, changed his way of thinking and eventually drove him to hold a press conference April 8 in which he proclaimed: “I’ve finally reached my saturation point.”

Gray hardly seems like the type who would advocate the legalized selling of marijuana, cocaine or heroin at “licensed” neighborhood pharmacies. Under his proposal, the drugs would be taxed and the funds used to pay for drug education and treatment programs.

Even Gray admits that his stance is perceived as more fitting of some liberal “public defender from Berkeley.” But he hopes his position on the bench will force people to look at his proposals more seriously.

Gray, son of the late U.S. District Judge William P. Gray and father of three grown children, appears as strait-laced and all-American as they come, proudly calling himself “a conservative judge in a conservative county.”

Born in Washington, D.C., he moved to the Los Angeles area with his family at an early age. He went to UCLA as an undergraduate, where he bounced from major to major before deciding on history. Upon graduation in 1966, Gray joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to work in a small town in Costa Rica, where he taught physical education and health.

When he finished his two-year commitment, he returned to Southern California and entered law school at USC. About the same time, he received his “1A classification notice” from the Army, but joined the Navy ROTC so he could first get his law degree, and then serve his country.

It was in 1969, during his second year in law school, that Gray quite unknowingly had his first and only personal experience with drugs.

He went to a party and was given a snack by some of the guys from his dorm. “It was a brownie,” Gray said. Not thinking anything was unusual, he ate the chocolate square.

“They laughed at me afterward and said, ‘Ha, ha. There’s marijuana in the brownie.’ I looked at them very seriously and said, ‘Look, using marijuana is not a good idea at all. If you’re going to do it, I guess you’re going to do, but it’s totally inappropriate to give it to somebody else without him knowing.’

“To my knowledge, that is the only time I’ve ever internalized such stuff of any form.

“I don’t do (drugs). They’re harmful. I think it’s stupid.”

After passing the bar examination, Gray served four years in the Navy as a defense attorney and staff judge advocate. It was during a stint on Guam that Gray first started forming opinions about drugs.

“The drug problem just began to hit Guam while I was there,” he said. A few months after he arrived, Guam had its first homicide since World War II. “By the time I left, I’d say they were having a homicide every two or three weeks, and it was all drug-related. That started to open my eyes to the drug situation. These murders were, in effect, being caused by drugs and the drug laws.”

He left the Navy in 1975 after four years of service, having defended many servicemen--some of whom were charged with drug offenses. He had earned a Combat Ribbon for a brief mission in Vietnam. If it were up to him, Gray said, he would “reinstitute the draft. I believe it important for people to serve our country. . . . It would be good for our young people and it would be good for our country.”

From the Navy, Gray joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, where he headed a unit that prosecuted housing loan frauds against the government. But he also handled numerous drug cases, which in those days were considered big if they involved a few kilograms, not the hundreds of pounds that are typically a part of prosecutions today.

Even then, Gray said, he was struck by the amount of money that was involved. “It made me really furrow my brow and say, ‘What’s going on here?’ ” he said.

In 1978, Gray went into private practice in Los Angeles and concentrated on corporate litigation. But he grew tired of life as an attorney. He applied for and was appointed to a position on the Municipal Court bench in 1984 by then-Gov. George Deukmejian. Five years later, the governor appointed him to the Superior Court bench, where he is today, hearing mostly civil cases.

Since his controversial press conference, Gray has been at the center of a countywide debate. Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates has led a movement of opposition, threatening to campaign against Gray when he comes up for reelection in 1996.

Other county officials, from district attorney to county supervisors, have also sounded off against the judge, while organizations such as Drug Abuse Is Life Abuse, have distributed press releases arguing that the war on drugs is being won.

Gray has been deluged with scores of letters and telephone calls from people throughout the state who have commented about his proposal. He is scheduled to tape a national televised talk show program next week on the topic.

Although he is not the first to suggest legalization of marijuana, cocaine and heroin as a solution to the drug problem, he is the most prominent person in Orange County to publicly express such a view.

Friends and colleagues say they were not too surprised by Gray’s proposal. They described him as an intellectual man who takes his job seriously and is concerned about the public good.

“He is very sincere, highly professional and highly regarded among the judges,” said U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor, who used to serve on the Superior Court bench with Gray. “What he did, I’m sure he did with a great deal of thought.”

Attorney Frank Rothman, a partner in the law firm where Gray once worked, agreed. “He is a very compassionate human being cut out of the same stuff his father was.”

Some attorneys, however, said privately that Gray’s action typified his arrogant attitude.

“He’s very egotistical,” said one attorney who asked not to be named. “He thinks he knows what’s best for everybody.”

Another attorney last week questioned the judge’s impartiality and filed a motion to remove Gray from a civil case because it involved a person with a substance-abuse problem.

Two people who have had cases before Gray said they asked the state Judicial Performance Commission in San Francisco to investigate Gray. A commission spokeswoman said she could not comment on whether an investigation has been launched.

Gray defended his action, saying a judicial canon states that a judge may speak out on issues that concern the administration of justice. At his press conference earlier this month, he was careful to point out that he was speaking only as a private citizen. He took vacation time to state his views and printed the press releases at his own expense, not the county’s.

Gray said he knew that there would be some backlash to his proposal and considered it thoroughly before making his statements.

He further considered that, because of his stance, he will most likely “never again be appointed any other judicial position.”

Despite the attacks and the possible repercussions to his career, Gray focused on the positive responses to his proposal. In his office last week, he went through some of the letters that were stacked nearly a foot high on his desk.

After receiving permission from the authors, Gray shared some of the letters with a reporter.

“I’m gratified about the response,” he said. “Whether they are for my proposal or not, people are talking about the issue and that’s what needs to be done. . . . This issue is so important to our society. Something had to be done. Nothing was being said. And now something is.”

Letters To Judge Gray

“I am sad to say that I agree with you. We have lost the battle. . . . What you have said needs to be said, and more often, from all points of the compass.”

Retired Judge Leon Emerson, former Los Angeles County municipal judge in Downey.

“Mrs. Buchanan and I, 65, retired and not yet believed to be senile, agree with you totally. . . . Taking the profit from illegal drugs is our only way out.”

James C. Buchanan, resident of Orange.

“Drugs screw up people’s brains. . . . I think your arguments are weak. We would have overcrowded jails and prisons with or without the legalization of drugs.”

Terry H. Griggs, resident of Torrance.