Samuel L. Laidig; Pasadena Judge, Civic Activist

Samuel L. Laidig, 82, who served as a Pasadena Municipal Court judge for 15 years. An Oklahoma native reared in Berkeley, Calif., Laidig was educated at UC Berkeley and its Boalt Hall Law School. After Army service in Europe during World War II, in which he earned four Bronze Stars, Laidig practiced law in Los Angeles. He first took the bench in 1962 as a Los Angeles court commissioner, and was named to the Municipal Court bench in 1971. He endeared himself to drivers in 1988 when he threw out speeding cases on grounds that Pasadena had improperly painted its new radar car white and gold instead of the legally required black and white. After retirement in 1986, he continued to handle special court assignments. He was president of Foothill Family Service and chaired the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee. On Feb. 13 in Pasadena.