William Paul Compton

William Paul Compton was born in 1914 in Decatur, Alabama. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia, where he finished at the top of his class and served as editor of the university's law review. After graduation he was invited to serve as law clerk to Armistead M. Dobie, then a member of the 4th U.S. Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction covered Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and North and South Carolina. A member of the United States Supreme Court Bar, Compton was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1943 and to the Nevada Bar in 1947.

In Nevada, Compton served as Henderson city attorney, spent five years on the Nevada State Board of Bar Examiners, and served for four years as assistant U.S. attorney for Nevada. He was appointed to the District Court bench in 1960 by Governor Grant Sawyer, then elected in 1960 and re-elected in 1964 and 1968. A jurist for 14 years, he became Clark County's senior judge and served as chief judge, remaining on the bench until 1974. He continued in private practice for many years thereafter.

Much of Compton's legacy lay in juvenile justice, where he served as juvenile judge from 1962 to 1969 and was a longtime member of the National Council of Juvenile Court Judges. He brought the first Juvenile Judges Conference to Las Vegas, and at that 1969 conference he was presented with a plaque in recognition of his distinguished service to children and youth. During his tenure the Juvenile Home and Child Haven were built, and he guided much of the development of Spring Mountain Youth Camp. He oversaw the addition of the first full-time psychologist to the staff of Juvenile Services, participated in the establishment of the first Juvenile Traffic Court in Las Vegas, and established the first truancy court, which resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of truancy repeaters in the county. Compton was a member of Christ Church Episcopal in Las Vegas and of many Masonic groups in the state.