Samuel Freedman, Conn. judge and lawmaker, dies

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Samuel Freedman, a Connecticut judge and legislator who helped create the state's public defender system, has died. He was 85.

An obituary prepared by his family says Freedman died Sunday at a hospital in Bridgeport. The cause of death wasn't available. No one answered the phone at Freedman's Westport home on Tuesday.

Freedman was nominated to the Superior Court bench in 1978 by Gov. Ella Grasso and oversaw criminal and civil cases in the Bridgeport, New Haven and Norwalk courthouses. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, he served as a judge trial referee until his death.

Freedman was a state representative for Easton, Weston and Westport in 1973 and 1974. He chaired a subcommittee that created the public defender system.

His funeral is set for Wednesday in Fairfield.