David Souter
Encyclopedia
David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President
George H. W. Bush
to fill the seat vacated by William J. Brennan, Jr.
, Souter was the only Justice during his time on the Court with extensive prior court experience outside of a federal appeals court, having served as a prosecutor, a state's attorney general, and as a judge on state trial and appellate courts. Souter sat on both the Rehnquist
and Roberts courts, and came to vote reliably with the court's liberal members. Following Souter's retirement announcement in 2009, President Barack Obama
nominated Sonia Sotomayor
as his successor.
.
Souter attended Concord High School
in New Hampshire and went on to Harvard College
, concentrating in philosophy
and writing a senior thesis on the legal positivism
of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
In 1961, he graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was selected as a Rhodes Scholar
and earned an M.A.
from Magdalen College, Oxford
, in 1963. He then entered Harvard Law School
, graduating in 1966.
, Souter realized he disliked private practice and began his career in public service by accepting a position as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire in 1968. As Assistant Attorney General he prosecuted criminal cases in the courts. In 1971, Warren Rudman
, then the Attorney General of New Hampshire, selected Souter to be the Deputy Attorney General. Souter succeeded Rudman as New Hampshire Attorney General in 1976.
In 1978, with the support of his friend Rudman, Souter was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. As a judge on the Superior Court he heard cases in two counties and was noted for his tough sentencing. With four years of trial court experience, Souter was appointed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court
as an Associate Justice in 1983.
Shortly after George H. W. Bush was sworn in as President, he nominated Souter for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
. Souter had had seven years of judicial experience at the appellate level, four years at the trial court level, and ten years with the Attorney General's office. He was confirmed by unanimous consent of the Senate
on April 27, 1990.
to Brennan's seat, but decided that Thomas did not have enough experience as a judge. Warren Rudman, who had since been elected a senator, and former New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu, then Chief of Staff to President Bush, suggested Souter, and were instrumental in his nomination and confirmation. Prior to this time, few observers outside of New Hampshire knew who Souter was, although he had reportedly been on Reagan's short list of nominees for the Supreme Court seat that eventually went to Anthony Kennedy
.
Souter was seen as a "stealth justice" whose professional record in the state courts provoked little real controversy, and provided very little "paper trail" on issues of U.S. Constitutional law. President Bush saw this lack of a paper trail as a positive for Souter, because one of President Reagan
's nominees, Robert Bork
, had recently been rejected by the Senate partially because of the availability of his extensive written opinions on controversial issues. Bush nominated Souter on July 25, 1990, claiming that he did not know Souter's stances on abortion
, affirmative action
, or other issues.
Senate confirmation hearings were held beginning on September 13, 1990. The National Organization for Women
opposed Souter's nomination and held a rally outside of the Senate during his confirmation hearings. The president of NOW, Molly Yard
, testified that Souter would "end freedom for women in this country." Souter was also opposed by the NAACP, which urged its 500,000 members to write letters to their senators asking them to vote no on the nomination. In Souter's opening statement before the Judiciary Committee of the Senate he summed up the lessons he had learned as a judge of the New Hampshire courts:
Despite the opposition, Souter won an easy confirmation compared to those of later appointees. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out the nomination by a vote of 14–3, the Senate confirmed the nomination by a vote of 90–9, and Souter took his seat shortly thereafter, on October 9, 1990.
The nine senators voting against Souter included Ted Kennedy
and John Kerry
from Souter's neighboring state of Massachusetts
. These senators, along with seven others, painted Souter as a right-winger in the mold of Robert Bork. They based their claim on Souter's friendships with many conservative politicians in New Hampshire.
An opinion article by The Wall Street Journal some ten years after the Souter nomination called Souter a "liberal jurist" and said that Rudman took "pride in recounting how he sold Mr. Souter to gullible White House Chief of Staff John Sununu as a confirmable conservative. Then they both sold the judge to President Bush, who wanted above all else to avoid a confirmation battle." Rudman wrote in his memoir
that he had "suspected all along" that Souter would not "overturn activist liberal precedents." Sununu later said that he had "a lot of disappointment" about Souter's positions on the court and would have preferred him to be more similar to Justice Antonin Scalia
.
He has also served as the court's designated representative to Congress on at least one occasion, testifying before committees of that body about the court's needs for additional funding to refurbish its building and for other projects.
on constitutional matters; however, he portrayed himself as moderate who disliked radical change and who attached a high importance to precedent. However, in the state attorney general's office and as a state Supreme Court judge, he had never been tested on matters of federal law.
Initially, from 1990 to 1993, Souter tended to be a conservative-leaning justice, although not as conservative as Antonin Scalia
, Clarence Thomas
or William Rehnquist
. In Souter's first year, Souter and Scalia voted alike close to 85 percent of the time; Souter voted with Kennedy and O'Connor about 97 percent of the time. The symbolic turning point came in two cases in 1992, Planned Parenthood v. Casey
, in which the Court reaffirmed the essential holding in Roe v. Wade
, and Lee v. Weisman
, in which Souter voted against allowing prayer
at a high school graduation ceremony. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Anthony Kennedy considered overturning Roe and upholding all the restrictions at issue in Casey. Souter considered upholding all the restrictions but still was uneasy about overturning Roe. After consulting with O'Connor, however, the three (who came to be known as the "troika") developed a joint opinion that upheld all the restrictions in the Casey case except for the mandatory notification of a husband while asserting the essential holding of Roe, that a right to an abortion is protected by the Constitution.
After the appointment of Clarence Thomas
, Souter moved to the middle. By the late 1990s, Souter began to align himself more with Stephen Breyer
and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
on rulings, although as of 1995, he sided on more occasions with the more liberal justice, John Paul Stevens
, than either Breyer or Ginsburg, both Clinton appointees. O'Connor began to move to the center. On death penalty cases, worker rights cases, criminal rights cases, and other issues, Souter began voting with the liberals in the court. So while appointed by a Republican president and thus expected to be conservative, Souter came to be considered part of the liberal wing of the court. Because of this, many conservatives view the Souter appointment as a major error on the part of the Bush administration and have gone on to intensely scrutinize future potential Republican appointees on the standard of whether they would be reliable conservatives. For example, after widespread speculation that President George W. Bush intended to appoint Alberto Gonzales
—whose perceived views on affirmative action and abortion drew criticism—to the court, some conservative Senate staffers popularized the slogan that "Gonzales is Spanish for Souter".
, Souter wrote that Roe v. Wade
should not be overturned because it would be "a surrender to political pressure... So to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the Court's legitimacy beyond any serious question."
to allow the presidential election recount to continue while the majority voted to end the recount. This allowed the declaration of Bush
as the winner of the election in Florida to stand.
Jeffrey Toobin
wrote, controversially, of Souter's reaction to Bush v. Gore in his 2007 book The Nine:
The above passage was, however, disputed by Souter's long-time friend, Warren Rudman. Rudman told the New Hampshire Union Leader that while Souter was discomfited by Bush v. Gore, the idea that he had broken down into tears over the matter was not true.
and had a good relationship with both her and her husband during her days on the court. He generally has a good working relationship with each justice on the court, but he is particularly fond of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
, and he considers John Paul Stevens
to be the "smartest" justice.
Yury Danilov, reviewing the 2nd edition of the book in a Moscow English-language daily, made the following remark on Souter's position in Bush v. Gore case: "In a most critical and delicate situation, David Souter had maintained the independence of his position and in this respect had become a symbol of the independence of the judiciary."
as the nominee. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 6.
On June 29, 2009, the last day of the Court's 2008–2009 term, Chief Justice Roberts read a letter to Souter that had been signed by all eight of his colleagues as well as retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, thanking him for his service, and Souter read a letter to his colleagues reciprocating their good wishes.
as one of Washington's 10 Most Eligible Bachelors, Justice Souter has never married, though he was once engaged.
According to Jeffrey Toobin
's 2007 book The Nine, Souter has a decidedly low-tech lifestyle: He writes with a fountain pen, does not use e-mail, has no cell phone or answering machine
. While he was serving on the Supreme Court, he preferred to drive back to New Hampshire for the summer where he enjoyed mountain climbing. Souter also has done his own home repairs.
In early August 2009 Souter moved from his family farm house in Weare
to a Cape Cod-style single-floor home on two well-manicured acres in Hopkinton, New Hampshire
, a town adjacent to the state capital of Concord
. Souter told a disappointed Weare neighbor that the two-story family farmhouse was not structurally sound enough to support the thousands of books he owns, and that he wished to live on one level.
Over the years, Souter has served on hospital boards and civic committees. He is a former honorary co-chair of the We the People
National Advisory Committee.
|-
|-
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
to fill the seat vacated by William J. Brennan, Jr.
William J. Brennan, Jr.
William Joseph Brennan, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990...
, Souter was the only Justice during his time on the Court with extensive prior court experience outside of a federal appeals court, having served as a prosecutor, a state's attorney general, and as a judge on state trial and appellate courts. Souter sat on both the Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
and Roberts courts, and came to vote reliably with the court's liberal members. Following Souter's retirement announcement in 2009, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
nominated Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
as his successor.
Early life and education
Souter was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, on September 17, 1939, the only child of Joseph Alexander Souter (1904–1976) and Helen Adams Hackett Souter (1907–1995). At age 11, he moved with his family to their farm in Weare, New HampshireWeare, New Hampshire
Weare is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,785 at the 2010 census. It is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester and Concord.-History:...
.
Souter attended Concord High School
Concord High School (New Hampshire)
Concord High School is a high school in Concord, New Hampshire in the United States.- History :Concord's first public high school was established in 1846. The original building was the building on the corner of State and School Streets. A new school house was built in 1862, which stood until April...
in New Hampshire and went on to Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, concentrating in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and writing a senior thesis on the legal positivism
Legal positivism
Legal positivism is a school of thought of philosophy of law and jurisprudence, largely developed by nineteenth-century legal thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. However, the most prominent figure in the history of legal positivism is H.L.A...
of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
In 1961, he graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was selected as a Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
and earned an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, in 1963. He then entered Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, graduating in 1966.
Early career
In 1968, after two years as an associate at the law firm of Orr & Reno in Concord, New HampshireConcord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, Souter realized he disliked private practice and began his career in public service by accepting a position as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire in 1968. As Assistant Attorney General he prosecuted criminal cases in the courts. In 1971, Warren Rudman
Warren Rudman
Warren Bruce Rudman is an American attorney and Republican politician who served as United States Senator from New Hampshire between 1980 and 1993...
, then the Attorney General of New Hampshire, selected Souter to be the Deputy Attorney General. Souter succeeded Rudman as New Hampshire Attorney General in 1976.
In 1978, with the support of his friend Rudman, Souter was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. As a judge on the Superior Court he heard cases in two counties and was noted for his tough sentencing. With four years of trial court experience, Souter was appointed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court
New Hampshire Supreme Court
The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U. S. state of New Hampshire and sole appellate court of the state. The Supreme Court is seated in the state capital, Concord. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices appointed by the Governor and Executive...
as an Associate Justice in 1983.
Shortly after George H. W. Bush was sworn in as President, he nominated Souter for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Maine* District of Massachusetts...
. Souter had had seven years of judicial experience at the appellate level, four years at the trial court level, and ten years with the Attorney General's office. He was confirmed by unanimous consent of the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on April 27, 1990.
U.S. Supreme Court appointment
President George H. W. Bush originally considered appointing Clarence ThomasClarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
to Brennan's seat, but decided that Thomas did not have enough experience as a judge. Warren Rudman, who had since been elected a senator, and former New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu, then Chief of Staff to President Bush, suggested Souter, and were instrumental in his nomination and confirmation. Prior to this time, few observers outside of New Hampshire knew who Souter was, although he had reportedly been on Reagan's short list of nominees for the Supreme Court seat that eventually went to Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
.
Souter was seen as a "stealth justice" whose professional record in the state courts provoked little real controversy, and provided very little "paper trail" on issues of U.S. Constitutional law. President Bush saw this lack of a paper trail as a positive for Souter, because one of President Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's nominees, Robert Bork
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
, had recently been rejected by the Senate partially because of the availability of his extensive written opinions on controversial issues. Bush nominated Souter on July 25, 1990, claiming that he did not know Souter's stances on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
, or other issues.
Senate confirmation hearings were held beginning on September 13, 1990. The National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
opposed Souter's nomination and held a rally outside of the Senate during his confirmation hearings. The president of NOW, Molly Yard
Molly Yard
Mary Alexander "Molly" Yard was an American feminist of the late 20th century, who, through service as an assistant to Eleanor Roosevelt in the middle of the century and later work as a U.S...
, testified that Souter would "end freedom for women in this country." Souter was also opposed by the NAACP, which urged its 500,000 members to write letters to their senators asking them to vote no on the nomination. In Souter's opening statement before the Judiciary Committee of the Senate he summed up the lessons he had learned as a judge of the New Hampshire courts:
Despite the opposition, Souter won an easy confirmation compared to those of later appointees. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out the nomination by a vote of 14–3, the Senate confirmed the nomination by a vote of 90–9, and Souter took his seat shortly thereafter, on October 9, 1990.
The nine senators voting against Souter included Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
and John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
from Souter's neighboring state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. These senators, along with seven others, painted Souter as a right-winger in the mold of Robert Bork. They based their claim on Souter's friendships with many conservative politicians in New Hampshire.
An opinion article by The Wall Street Journal some ten years after the Souter nomination called Souter a "liberal jurist" and said that Rudman took "pride in recounting how he sold Mr. Souter to gullible White House Chief of Staff John Sununu as a confirmable conservative. Then they both sold the judge to President Bush, who wanted above all else to avoid a confirmation battle." Rudman wrote in his memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
that he had "suspected all along" that Souter would not "overturn activist liberal precedents." Sununu later said that he had "a lot of disappointment" about Souter's positions on the court and would have preferred him to be more similar to Justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
.
U.S. Supreme Court career
Souter opposed having cameras in the Supreme Court during oral arguments because he said questions would be taken out of context by the media and the proceedings would be politicized.He has also served as the court's designated representative to Congress on at least one occasion, testifying before committees of that body about the court's needs for additional funding to refurbish its building and for other projects.
Expected conservatism
At the time of Souter's appointment, John Sununu assured President Bush and conservatives that Souter would be a "home run" for conservatism. In his testimony before the Senate, he was thought by conservatives to be a strict constructionistStrict constructionism
In the United States, Strict constructionism refers to a particular legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that limits or restricts judicial interpretation. The phrase is also commonly used more loosely as a generic term for conservatism among the judiciary.- Strict sense of the term :Strict...
on constitutional matters; however, he portrayed himself as moderate who disliked radical change and who attached a high importance to precedent. However, in the state attorney general's office and as a state Supreme Court judge, he had never been tested on matters of federal law.
Initially, from 1990 to 1993, Souter tended to be a conservative-leaning justice, although not as conservative as Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
or William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
. In Souter's first year, Souter and Scalia voted alike close to 85 percent of the time; Souter voted with Kennedy and O'Connor about 97 percent of the time. The symbolic turning point came in two cases in 1992, Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania state regulations regarding abortion were challenged...
, in which the Court reaffirmed the essential holding in Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
, and Lee v. Weisman
Lee v. Weisman
Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 , was a United States Supreme Court decision regarding school prayer. It was the first major school prayer case decided by the Rehnquist Court. It involved prayers led by religious authority figures at public school graduation ceremonies...
, in which Souter voted against allowing prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
at a high school graduation ceremony. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Anthony Kennedy considered overturning Roe and upholding all the restrictions at issue in Casey. Souter considered upholding all the restrictions but still was uneasy about overturning Roe. After consulting with O'Connor, however, the three (who came to be known as the "troika") developed a joint opinion that upheld all the restrictions in the Casey case except for the mandatory notification of a husband while asserting the essential holding of Roe, that a right to an abortion is protected by the Constitution.
After the appointment of Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
, Souter moved to the middle. By the late 1990s, Souter began to align himself more with Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....
and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
on rulings, although as of 1995, he sided on more occasions with the more liberal justice, John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
, than either Breyer or Ginsburg, both Clinton appointees. O'Connor began to move to the center. On death penalty cases, worker rights cases, criminal rights cases, and other issues, Souter began voting with the liberals in the court. So while appointed by a Republican president and thus expected to be conservative, Souter came to be considered part of the liberal wing of the court. Because of this, many conservatives view the Souter appointment as a major error on the part of the Bush administration and have gone on to intensely scrutinize future potential Republican appointees on the standard of whether they would be reliable conservatives. For example, after widespread speculation that President George W. Bush intended to appoint Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
—whose perceived views on affirmative action and abortion drew criticism—to the court, some conservative Senate staffers popularized the slogan that "Gonzales is Spanish for Souter".
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
In 1992's Planned Parenthood v. CaseyPlanned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania state regulations regarding abortion were challenged...
, Souter wrote that Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
should not be overturned because it would be "a surrender to political pressure... So to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the Court's legitimacy beyond any serious question."
Bush v. Gore
In 2000, Souter voted and dissented along with three other justices in Bush v. GoreBush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore, , is the landmark United States Supreme Court decision on December 12, 2000, that effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush. Only eight days earlier, the United States Supreme Court had unanimously decided the closely related case of Bush v...
to allow the presidential election recount to continue while the majority voted to end the recount. This allowed the declaration of Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as the winner of the election in Florida to stand.
Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Ross Toobin is an American lawyer, author, and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker.-Early life and education:...
wrote, controversially, of Souter's reaction to Bush v. Gore in his 2007 book The Nine:
The above passage was, however, disputed by Souter's long-time friend, Warren Rudman. Rudman told the New Hampshire Union Leader that while Souter was discomfited by Bush v. Gore, the idea that he had broken down into tears over the matter was not true.
Relationship with other justices
Souter worked well with Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
and had a good relationship with both her and her husband during her days on the court. He generally has a good working relationship with each justice on the court, but he is particularly fond of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
, and he considers John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
to be the "smartest" justice.
International recognition
Even though Souter had never traveled outside the United States during his years with the Supreme Court, he still had gained quite a recognition abroad. In 1995, a series of articles, based on his written opinions and entitled "Souter Court", was published by a Moscow legal journal "The Russian Justice." Those were followed by a book, written in Russian and bearing Souter's name in the title. Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian FederationConstitutional Court of the Russian Federation
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a high court which is empowered to rule on whether or not certain laws or presidential decrees are in fact contrary to the Constitution of Russia...
Yury Danilov, reviewing the 2nd edition of the book in a Moscow English-language daily, made the following remark on Souter's position in Bush v. Gore case: "In a most critical and delicate situation, David Souter had maintained the independence of his position and in this respect had become a symbol of the independence of the judiciary."
Retirement
Long before the election of President Obama, Souter had expressed a desire to leave Washington, D.C., and return to his native New Hampshire. The election of a Democratic president in 2008 made Souter more inclined to retire, but he did not want to create a situation in which there would be multiple vacancies at once. Souter apparently became satisfied that no other justices planned to retire at the end of the Supreme Court's term in June 2009. As a result, in mid-April 2009 he privately notified the White House of his intent to retire from the Supreme Court at the conclusion of its business for that term. Souter sent a retirement letter to President Obama on May 1, effective at the start of the Supreme Court's 2009 summer recess. Later that day President Obama made an unscheduled appearance during the daily White House press briefing to publicly announce Souter's retirement. On May 26, 2009, Obama announced his selection of federal appeals court judge Sonia SotomayorSonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
as the nominee. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 6.
On June 29, 2009, the last day of the Court's 2008–2009 term, Chief Justice Roberts read a letter to Souter that had been signed by all eight of his colleagues as well as retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, thanking him for his service, and Souter read a letter to his colleagues reciprocating their good wishes.
Personal life
Once named by The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
as one of Washington's 10 Most Eligible Bachelors, Justice Souter has never married, though he was once engaged.
According to Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Ross Toobin is an American lawyer, author, and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker.-Early life and education:...
's 2007 book The Nine, Souter has a decidedly low-tech lifestyle: He writes with a fountain pen, does not use e-mail, has no cell phone or answering machine
Answering machine
The answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...
. While he was serving on the Supreme Court, he preferred to drive back to New Hampshire for the summer where he enjoyed mountain climbing. Souter also has done his own home repairs.
In early August 2009 Souter moved from his family farm house in Weare
Weare, New Hampshire
Weare is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,785 at the 2010 census. It is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester and Concord.-History:...
to a Cape Cod-style single-floor home on two well-manicured acres in Hopkinton, New Hampshire
Hopkinton, New Hampshire
Hopkinton is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,589 at the 2010 census. It consists of three villages: Hopkinton, West Hopkinton, and Contoocook...
, a town adjacent to the state capital of Concord
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
. Souter told a disappointed Weare neighbor that the two-story family farmhouse was not structurally sound enough to support the thousands of books he owns, and that he wished to live on one level.
Over the years, Souter has served on hospital boards and civic committees. He is a former honorary co-chair of the We the People
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, is a yearly competition for American high school students held in Washington D.C. The competition is styled as a congressional hearing. Each team is divided up into six units, each composed of three or...
National Advisory Committee.
See also
- George H. W. Bush Supreme Court candidatesGeorge H. W. Bush Supreme Court candidatesSpeculation abounded over potential nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States by George H. W. Bush even before his presidency officially began, given the advanced ages of several justices....
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by court composition
- List of law schools by United States Supreme Court Justices trained
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by seat
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by education
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Rehnquist Court
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Roberts Court
- Lost Liberty HotelLost Liberty HotelThe Lost Liberty Hotel or Lost Liberty Inn was a proposed hotel to be built on the site of United States Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter's properties in Weare, New Hampshire. The proposal was a reaction to the Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London decision in which Souter joined the...
Further reading
- Abraham, Henry J., Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court. 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). ISBN 0-19-506557-3.
- Cushman, Clare, The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995. 2nd ed. (Supreme Court Historical Society; Congressional Quarterly Books, 2001). ISBN 1568021267, ISBN 9781568021263.
- Frank, John P., The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions (Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, editors). (Chelsea House Publishers, 1995). ISBN 0791013774, ISBN 978-0791013779.
- Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). ISBN 0195058356, ISBN 9780195058352.
- Martin, Fenton S., and Goehlert, Robert U., The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography. (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1990). ISBN 0871875543.
- Urofsky, Melvin I., The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary. (New York: Garland Publishing 1994). ISBN 0815311761, ISBN 978-0815311768.
External links
- Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire, Nina Totenberg, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, May 3, 2009 - Online Symposium: Justice Souter and the First Amendment, First Amendment CenterFirst Amendment CenterThe First Amendment Center is an advocacy group in the United States that works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. The Center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of...
, July 23, 2009 - The Selling of Judge David Souter to Movement Conservatives
- David Souter discusses his post-Supreme Court future in the Harvard Law RecordHarvard Law RecordThe Harvard Law Record is an independent, biweekly student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States.-Characteristics:...
, October 2, 2009 - Justice David Souter's Harvard Commencement Remarks, Harvard Gazette, May 27, 2010
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