With the passing of Judge Laurence Silberman, who died peacefully in his home in Washington, DC, this past weekend, America lost a great friend. And so did AEI.

Silberman joined AEI’s scholarly ranks in 1977 and brought along two good friends and fellow lawyers from the Ford administration—Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia. His work with us showed his wisdom as a legal thinker, and examples from that era can be found here, here, and here. In one testimony from 1978, he presciently spoke on the use of electronic surveillance for national security, which would later become a key subject of his judicial service.

When President Ronald Reagan appointed Silberman to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in 1985, Silberman’s formal affiliation with AEI ended, but his affection for our institution did not. Years later, he spoke fondly of “the scholarly life, or this time at AEI,” and how it inspired his decision to serve on the federal bench.

In 2005, Judge Silberman returned to AEI to present the findings of the Iraq Intelligence Commission that he co-chaired with former Sen. Chuck Robb (D-VA). This report was groundbreaking, a great work of rigorous truth-seeking driven by patriotism.

His informal relationship with many of our scholars and supporters continued through the years, up until this past summer when he and his wife, Patricia Winn Silberman, joined us for our annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Then as always, he was clear, direct, and strong when talking about the proper role for judges and prosecutors. And he was also funny, warm, and friendly. He told us that he thought all was not right in America, surely, but he conveyed great confidence that our system of laws, and not of men, would see us through—if we remained faithful to our founding documents.

We also were pleased to see him in our dining room just a few weeks ago, spending a long lunch with old friends, reminding us of his association with AEI. The news of his passing is made more disheartening by knowing that we were counting on learning more from him in the coming years.

This will be just one of many tributes to Silberman from AEI scholars. Yuval Levin has already written a eulogy in National Review, and I know more remembrances are still to come.

Laurence Silberman was a great lawyer, exemplary judge, and true patriot. Our country is stronger because he served us so well.

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