Dooling Jr. was born in Hollister, California, to Ida M. K. Wagner and the senior Maurice Timothy Dooling, an attorney who would later become a United States federal judge, appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California by President Woodrow Wilson.

[8] In 1928, Governor C. C. Young appointed Dooling as a superior court judge of San Benito County, a position his father had held.

[14] In June 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Governor Culbert Olson appointed Dooling as San Benito county chairman of recruiting for the armed forces, should America join the conflict.

[9][16] In June 1960, Governor Pat Brown appointed Dooling as Associate Justice to the California Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy from the resignation of Homer R.

[9] Among the notable cases Dooling voted on is the pair in 1961 arising out of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California lawsuits against the Boards of Education of both the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego.