Federal Judge Dies After Being Hit By Car Near Courthouse

We have some sad news to report out of Nevada, where a federal court judge recently passed away after being hit by a car.

Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks of the District of Nevada was struck by a car near the courthouse in Reno, Nevada, where he’d worked for more than 20 years. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has additional details:

Officials responded to a call around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday after a vehicle struck Hicks at the intersection of South Virginia Street and California Avenue, according to the release from Reno police.

The driver remained on the scene and was cooperating with the investigation, police said, adding that “impairment does not appear to be a factor in this crash.”

Hicks was taken to a nearby hospital but died shortly after, police said.

Hicks, a graduate of the University of Colorado Law School, was appointed to the federal bench in 2001 and took senior status in 2013. He continued to work since that time, and as noted by the ABA Journal, had an active caseload at the time of his passing.

Retired U.S. District Judge Philip Pro, who served with Hicks for more than a decade, called him a “truly wonderful human being.” Pro continued, speaking very highly of his former benchmate: “He was a highly respected and wonderfully thoughtful and fair judge, colleague and friend. His tragic death is an enormous loss to Nevada’s Federal Court, the legal community, and the State of Nevada which he served so well for more than 50 years. More importantly his passing is an irreplaceable loss to his loving family.”

We here at Above the Law extend our condolences to Judge Larry Hicks’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.

Longtime Nevada federal judge dies after struck by vehicle [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Federal judge fatally struck by car had offered heartwarming advice in clerk interview [ABA Journal]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.