Recently, Judge Gray retired from the bench. This month he is due to return to sit on assignment in the Torrance Courthouse. It is always a pleasure to see good judges return to serve as needed after retirement. His years of judicial experience and years before that in private practice should not be wasted.

Dudley Gray was appointed to the then South Bay Municipal Court in January 1990 by then-Gov. George Deukmejian. He was presiding judge of the Torrance Court in 1992 and assistant presiding judge in 1991 and from 1993 to 1995 and made a Superior Court judge through unification in 2000. Prior to becoming a local Judge, Gray was a criminal defense lawyer in Torrance where he partnered with his father and brother, respected criminal lawyer, Jeff Gray. The Judge was a member of both the California and Idaho bars.

Dudley Gray received his law degree from the University of Idaho and an undergraduate degree in English from the College of Idaho. Dudley made the national news last year when he reversed a small claims case brought by Heather Peters, who alleged that her Honda hybrid got 30 miles per gallon rather than the 50 mpg the company advertised. The Torrance small claims court awarded Peters $9,867, but Judge Gray, hearing the case as an appellate court, ruled for Honda. According to news accounts, Gray said in his decision that mileage estimates were for comparison shopping among vehicles only, and that Honda had complied with Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Trade Commission regulations.