Laurence Silberman, Conservative DC Circuit Icon, Dies at 86 (1)

Laurence Silberman, a conservative stalwart on the nation’s second-most powerful court, died on Sunday at 86.

The US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Executive Betsy Paret confirmed Silberman’s death, but had no other details. Appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, Silberman took senior status in November 2000, meaning his death will not create a vacancy on the court for President Joe Biden to fill.

Silberman’s government career also included service as solicitor and undersecretary of labor as well as deputy attorney general and ambassador to Yugoslavia during the Cold War, although it is his ...