Laughlin Edward Waters Sr. (August 16, 1914 – June 3, 2002) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Education and career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Waters received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939 and was in the United States Army Infantry during World War II, from 1942 to 1945, achieving the rank of captain. A statue of him was erected in a French town his troops liberated, and he was mentioned in Stephen Ambrose's ''

Citizen Soldiers __NOTOC__ ''Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany'' is a non-fiction book about World War II written by Stephen E. Ambrose and published in 1997. It deals with Allied soldiers moving in ...

''.Wayne R. Gross
Lessons in Judicial Grace
''OC Lawyer'', July 1, 2013. He was a deputy attorney general of the State of California from 1946 to 1947, receiving a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the USC Gould School of Law in 1947. He was in private practice in Los Angeles from 1947 to 1953. He was a Republican member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

for the 58th district from 1947 to 1953. He was United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1953 to 1961, returning to private practice in Los Angeles from 1961 to 1976.

Federal judicial service

On April 26, 1976, Waters was nominated by President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California vacated by Judge

Jesse William Curtis Jr. Jesse William Curtis Jr. (December 26, 1905 – August 5, 2008) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and the United States District Court for the Central District of Califo ...

Waters was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 11, 1976, and received his commission on May 12, 1976. He assumed senior status on July 6, 1986, serving in that capacity until his death on June 3, 2002, in Los Angeles.Myrna Oliver
Obituary: Laughlin E. Waters, 87; U.S. District Judge and Politician
''The Los Angeles Times'', June 6, 2002.

References

Sources

*
Laughlin E. Waters
Oral history interview, conducted 1987 by Carlos Vasquez for California State Archives State Government Oral History Program.

External links

Join California Laughlin E. Waters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Laughlin Edward Sr. 1914 births 2002 deaths Republican Party members of the California State Assembly United States Attorneys for the Central District of California Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford 20th-century American judges United States Army officers USC Gould School of Law alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of World War II