David Souter

Justice David Hackett Souter (born September 17, 1939) has been an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court since 1990. He filled the seat vacated by William J. Brennan.

Related Topics:
September 17 - 1939 - US Supreme Court - 1990 - William J. Brennan

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Souter was born in Melrose, Massachusetts. He was the only child of Joseph A. Souter and Helen Hackett Souter. His father, a banker, died in 1976. He spent most of his childhood and adolescence at his family's farm in Weare, New Hampshire. He attended Concord High School, graduating in 1957.

Related Topics:
Melrose, Massachusetts - Weare, New Hampshire

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He went on to Harvard College, from which he received his A.B., majoring in philosophy and writing a senior thesis on Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., the famous Supreme Court justice. In 1961 he graduated from Harvard magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and chose to attend Magdalen College, Oxford, where he received an A.B. in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and an M.A. in 1963. He then entered Harvard Law School, graduating in 1966.

Related Topics:
Harvard College - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. - Magna cum laude - Phi Beta Kappa - Rhodes Scholar - Magdalen College, Oxford - Oxford University - Harvard Law School

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After law school he worked as an associate at Orr and Reno in Concord, New Hampshire from 1966 to 1968. But he accepted a position as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire in 1968, beginning his lifelong stint of public service. As Assistant Attorney General he worked in the criminal division, prosecuting cases in the courts. In 1971, Warren Rudman, then the Attorney General of New Hampshire, selected him to be the Deputy Attorney General.

Related Topics:
Concord, New Hampshire - New Hampshire - Warren Rudman

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In 1976, Rudman resigned to enter private practice and Souter succeeded him as the Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1978, he was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, and was appointed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court as an Associate Justice in 1983. He became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on May 25, 1990. His old friend Warren Rudman, who had since been elected a Senator, was instrumental in both this appointment, and his appointment to the Supreme Court.

Related Topics:
New Hampshire Supreme Court - United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - Warren Rudman

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Later that year, President George H. W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat October 9, 1990 shortly after the United States Senate confirmed him by a vote of 90 to 9. The press called him the "stealth justice," since his professional record provoked no real controversy.

Related Topics:
George H. W. Bush - October 9 - 1990 - United States Senate

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Souter, along with former Chief Justice Rehnquist and Breyer, has a reputation for being a strong guardian of the court's institutional integrity. A traditionalist, he famously stated, in response to proposals to videotape oral arguments before the Supreme Court, "I can tell you the day you see a camera come into our courtroom, it's going to roll over my dead body." 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.

Related Topics:
Rehnquist - Breyer

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Initially, from 1990-93, he tended to be a conservative Justice, although much in the mold of Anthony Kennedy, rather than Antonin Scalia 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. By 1995 Souter moved more to the center, and by 2000 he moved more to the left. It was a gradual shift similar to that of Harry Blackmun 20 years back.

Related Topics:
Anthony Kennedy - Antonin Scalia - William Rehnquist - Harry Blackmun

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Although appointed by a Republican president, he now tends to side with the more liberal justices rather than the conservatives. He dissented from the Court's opinion on the Bush v. Gore election of 2000 case.

Related Topics:
Republican - Bush v. Gore - Election of 2000

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Souter enjoys mountain climbing in New Hampshire during the judicial off-season. He is co-chair of the We the People National Advisory Committee. He is unmarried and a lifelong bachelor.

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After he was sworn in he said: "The first lesson, simple as it is, is that whatever court we're in, whatever we are doing, at the end of our task some human being is going to be affected. Some human life is going to be changed by what we do. And so we had better use every power of our minds and our hearts and our beings to get those rulings right."

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On April 30 2004, Souter suffered minor injuries when a group of young men assaulted him as he jogged on a city street in Washington, D.C.. The attempted robbery failed, however, due to Souter's vigorous self-defense.

Related Topics:
April 30 - 2004 - Washington, D.C.

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