Madera County, California GenWeb - Madera Biographies: AMER

    JUDGE STANLEY MURRAY - Judge Stanley Murray, who presides in the superior court of Madera county, has the distinction of being the second of the only two judges the county has had since its organization in 1893. Judge Murray has been on the bench since 1921.
    Stanley Murray was born at Merced Falls, Merced County, California, May 10, 1881, the son of Samuel R. and Florence (Barrett) Murray. A sketch of his father is given elsewhere in this volume. The younger man attended school at Fresno Flats up to the ninth grade, and then worked for the Madera Sugar Pine Company, at its lumber camp. He was one of the first employees of this company when it revived its operations in the Sierras of Madera County. In doing this work he earned money to complete his education. He attended and graduated from two business colleges, and then entered the Kent School of Law, San Francisco, where he obtained his LL. B. Degree in 1911. For about three years, while pursuing his law studies, he was employed in the auditing department of the Southern Pacific railroad and in the office of the state board of prison directors.
Returning to Madera, Judge Murray was associated in law with the late Robert L. Hargove, and served as city attorney of the county seat.
    In 1914, Judge Murray was elected district attorney, and in 1918 re-elected. In 1921, upon the resignation of Superior Court Judge William M. Conley, Governor W. D. Stephens appointed him to the vacancy. Since then, he has been elected to the same position by the citizens of Madera County three times, and as a proof of is popularity, the last time he was elected without opposition.
    Judge Murray has been assigned to the superior court bench in many counties in California, and has tried numerous important cases, both civil and criminal. His record for efficiency, both as district attorney and judge, place him in the forefront of the legal profession in the state.

From the History of Fresno and Madera Counties, 1933, Joseph Barcroft, editor for Madera County.