RENO, Nev. — Larry Hicks, a federal judge in Nevada for more than 20 years, died after being struck by a vehicle near the courthouse in Reno, authorities and his family said. He was 80.
Hicks was a pedestrian struck at an intersection Wednesday afternoon, taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, Reno police said in a news release. The driver cooperated with authorities, and impairment didn’t appear to be a factor.
Hicks was the father of current Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks, whose office released a statement on behalf of the Hicks family.
“Judge Larry Hicks was a deeply admired lawyer and judge, a devoted friend, mentor, and a committed servant to the administration of justice,” the statement said. “To us, he was first and foremost, a man who put nothing before family. He was a hero in all manners, a loving husband of nearly 59 years, a doting dad, an adoring Papa, and brother. His loss is beyond comprehension.”
Hicks was nominated to the U.S. District Court for Nevada in 2001 by Republican President George W. Bush and was sworn in shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. He continued to hear cases after assuming senior judge status in 2012.
Hicks was born in Evanston, Illinois; graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Colorado School of Law; and became a prosecutor in Reno in 1968. He was elected as Washoe County district attorney in 1975 and served until 1979, when he joined a prominent Nevada law firm, according to the State Bar of Nevada. He was awarded the association’s Presidential Award in 2020.
Flags will be flown at half-staff over Nevada’s federal courthouses, the U.S. District Court said.