David H. Souter
David H. Souter is a retired associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, serving from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush, Souter was initially expected to uphold conservative values, but his judicial approach often aligned with more moderate justices, particularly in key cases. Born in Melrose, Massachusetts, and raised in New Hampshire, Souter demonstrated academic promise early on, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University and later earning degrees from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. His legal career began in New Hampshire, where he held various positions, including attorney general and associate justice on the state Supreme Court.
Throughout his time on the Supreme Court, Souter was noted for his careful consideration of legal issues and his commitment to fair adjudication. Despite his initial conservative label, he frequently sided with moderate justices on important rulings, reflecting a complex and independent judicial philosophy. His tenure is often cited as a reminder of the unpredictability of judicial appointments, as justices can evolve beyond their initial political branding. After retiring, Souter continued to contribute to the legal field by serving as a visiting judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
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David H. Souter
Associate justice of the United States (1990–2009)
- Born: September 17, 1939
- Place of Birth: Melrose, Massachusetts
Souter was selected by US president George H. W. Bush to serve as an associate justice on the US Supreme Court because of his conservative leanings. Souter showed, instead, a moderate judicial posture. He often voted with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a left-moderate, on crucial cases. He retired from the post in 2009.
Early Life
The son of Joseph Alexander Souter, a banker, and Helen Adams Hackett Souter, David H. Souter was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, and lived there until he was eleven years old. As he was growing up, he spent summers in Weare, New Hampshire, on his maternal grandparents’ farm. When Souter's grandparents died, the Souters moved to the farm in Weare.
Souter showed exceptional promise as a student at Concord High School and was voted most likely to succeed. He continued his studies at Harvard University, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1961. He was granted membership in Phi Beta Kappa and continued his studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jurisprudence from Oxford’s Magdalen College. He entered Harvard Law School and received his law degree (JD) in 1966.
Life’s Work
Following his legal studies at Harvard, Souter returned to the family farm in Weare and joined the legal firm of Orr and Reno in nearby Concord, New Hampshire, as an associate. He remained with this firm for the next two years, resigning in 1968 to become an assistant attorney general for the state of New Hampshire; he served in this capacity until 1971, when he became New Hampshire’s deputy attorney general, a position he held until 1976. When Attorney General Warren Rudman resigned in 1976, Governor Meldrin Thompson appointed Souter the new attorney general of New Hampshire, a post in which he remained for two years. He resigned in 1978 to join New Hampshire’s judiciary.
The path that led to Souter’s appointment to the US Supreme Court began in 1978, when he became an associate justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court. During his five years on the Superior Court, Souter impressed his colleagues with his keen insights into the judicial process and his comprehensive understanding of legal issues and legal precedents. He quickly established his reputation as a well-informed and meticulous legal scholar, an objective judge, and an independent thinker.
In 1983, New Hampshire governor John Sununu appointed Souter to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, where he served until 1990, reaffirming the confidence that his supporters had developed in him as a dispassionate jurist who understood well the balance between fairness and constitutional law. Convinced of his ability to deal honestly and evenhandedly with judicial matters, President George H. W. Bush appointed Souter to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1990.
The judicial positions in which Souter served between 1978 and 1990 exposed him to a variety of legal situations. Because New Hampshire’s trial courts had no permanent location, Souter and his fellow justices traveled to New Hampshire’s ten counties to adjudicate legal cases. This experience exposed Souter to a panoply of legal cases and situations in many venues. Most of the trials over which he presided were criminal cases. During his seven years in the New Hampshire judiciary, he wrote more than two hundred opinions. He quickly developed a reputation for being tough on crime, but prosecutors and defense attorneys alike considered his decisions fair and unerringly sound legally.
Souter’s service on the Court of Appeals was short-lived. Five months into his new job, Souter was chosen to replace the retiring associate Supreme Court justice William J. Brennan. Souter, who was settling into his new office in Boston, had not yet unpacked his books. He received an urgent telephone call from C. Boyden Gray, President Bush’s legal counsel, telling him that the president wished to see him in Washington as soon as possible. This was Souter’s first inkling that he was being considered a possible successor to Brennan on the Supreme Court.
When Bush received word aboard Air Force One that Brennan wished to retire, he called Brennan to accept his resignation. He then turned to his chief of staff, Sununu (the former New Hampshire governor who had appointed Souter to that state’s Supreme Court), and requested a list of potential successors to the retiring justice. Bush wanted to move quickly to minimize the activities of pressure groups that would try to derail any nomination made by the president. He sought a potential nominee who did not have the baggage that had thwarted many previous nominations to the court. Souter was that ideal nominee.
The field of candidates for Justice Brennan’s seat on the Court was quickly narrowed to two, Souter and US Circuit Court judge Edith Jones of Texas. Jones was more openly conservative than Souter, but Souter had the backing of Bush’s legal counsel and of Attorney General Richard Thornburgh. They both reminded the president that as a Harvard graduate and former Rhodes Scholar, Souter was better qualified for the existing vacancy than was Jones. They considered Souter a conservative and rejoiced at how his private life was free of scandal. They anticipated easy confirmation by the US Senate.
Such was not the case, however. Because Souter was to replace one of the Court’s most liberal justices, many liberal senators sought to get Souter to reveal his views on crucial judicial matters, particularly abortion rights. Souter refused to commit himself on such matters, showing no animus toward those pressing him but remaining firm in his refusal to commit himself. Ultimately, the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended approval, and the Senate confirmed Souter’s appointment.
During his first two years with the court, Souter kept a low profile and wrote only two opinions. In later years, his writings proliferated. He frequently voted with the court’s moderate justices, although he was classified as more conservative than liberal.
In 2009, Souter retired from the Supreme Court. His seat was later filled by liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor. Despite his retirement, like justices such as O'Connor before him, he took advantage of his ability to further contribute to federal judicial cases by serving as a visiting judge for the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit several times. In 2020, he was part of the court's panel of judges that ruled that the Department of Justice could not restrict funding from cities and states serving as immigrant sanctuaries.
Significance
Perhaps the greatest lesson of Souter’s term on the court, in addition to his legacy as an exceptionally competent and fair jurist, is that his selection is a reminder that it is not always possible to predetermine the kind of justice a candidate will become. The labels often applied to candidates, notably “liberal” and “conservative,” often evaporate, as justices serve conscientiously on the court and strive to remain impartial in judging cases. Souter, chosen as a conservative, was something of an enigma to court watchers, but few deny that he was one of the most intellectually qualified justices to serve on the court throughout its long history.
Bibliography
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Cushman, Clare, ed. Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies. CQ, 2013.
"David Souter Fast Facts." CNN, 1 Sept. 2023, www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/david-souter-fast-facts/index.html. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Hull, N. E. H., William James Hoffer, and Peter Charles Hoffer, eds. The Abortion Rights Controversy in America: A Legal Reader. U of North Carolina Press, 2004.
Italia, Bob. David Souter. Abco, 1992.
O'Brien, David M. Judges on Judging: Views from the Bench. CQ, 2013.
Simon, James F. The Center Holds: The Power Struggle Inside the Rehnquist Court. Simon, 2012.
Stern, Mark Joseph. "Retired Supreme Court Justice Joins Opinion Shooting Down Trump’s Attack on Sanctuary Cities." Slate, 25 Mar. 2020, slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/david-souter-sanctuary-cities-first-circuit.html. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
US Congress. Committee on the Judiciary. Nomination of David H. Souter to Be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States: Hearings Before the Congress of the United States. Govt. Printing Office, 1990.
Yarbrough, Tinsley E. David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court. Oxford UP, 2005.