David Souter: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021102753.html |title=As on Bench, Voting Styles Are Personal |first1=Robert |last1=Barnes |first2=Lucy |last2=Shackelford |date=February 12, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126013018/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021102753.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| education = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|ABBA]], [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])<br>{{nowrap|[[Magdalen College, Oxford]] ([[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|MA]])}}
| signature = Souter signature.png
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=David Souter ondelivers the Missouriopinion Plan andof the theCourt electionin ofClark judicialv. officesArizona.ogg|title=David Souter's voice|type=speech|description=David Souter ondelivers the [[Missouriopinion Plan]] andof the electionCourt ofin ''[[Judiciary|judicialClark officesv. Arizona]]''<br/>Recorded DecemberJune 1329, 20102006}}
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{{liberalism US}}
'''David Hackett Souter''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|uː|t|ər}} {{respell|SOO|tər}}; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an [[associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] from 1990 until his retirement in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pr_05-01-09.html |title=Press Release |date=February 13, 2009 |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |access-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721063046/https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pr_05-01-09.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Appointed by President [[George H. W. Bush]] to fill the seat that had been vacated by [[William J. Brennan Jr.]], Souter sat on both the [[Rehnquist Court|Rehnquist]] and the [[Roberts Court|Roberts]] courts.
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== 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).<ref name="biography">Yarbrough, Tinsley E. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mvV0cVeWVmUC&q=david+souter+%22home+run%22 "David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505210016/https://books.google.com/books?id=mvV0cVeWVmUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=david+souter+%22home+run%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 |date=May 5, 2021 }}, Oxford University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-515933-0}} <!-- accessed 2008-06-27 --></ref><ref name="ref091">[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/souter.bio.html Biography David Hackett Souter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314174822/http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/souter.bio.html |date=March 14, 2021 }}, Cornell University Law School<!-- accessed 2009-05-03 --></ref> His father was of [[Scottish American|Scottish]] ancestry and his mother of [[English Americans|English]] ancestry.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.geni.com/people/David-Souter-Associate-Justice-of-the-U-S-Supreme-Court/6000000013205057829 | title=David Souter, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court | date=May 24, 2018 }}</ref> At age 11, he moved with his family to their farm in [[Weare, New Hampshire]].<ref name="biography" />
Souter graduated second in his class from [[Concord High School (New Hampshire)|Concord High School]] in 1957.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.concord.k12.nh.us/alumni/hist/disting/notables.htm |title=CONCORD HIGH SCHOOL NOTABLES |publisher=Concord High School |access-date=December 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221172824/http://www.concord.k12.nh.us/alumni/hist/disting/notables.htm |archive-date=December 21, 2013 }}</ref> He then attended [[Harvard University]], graduating in 1961 with an [[A.B.Bachelor of Arts]], ''[[magna cum laude]]'', in philosophy and writing a senior thesis on the [[legal positivism]] of Supreme Court Justice [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.]] While at Harvard, Souter was inducted into [[Phi Beta Kappa]].<ref>[http://www.pbk.org/userfiles/file/Famous%20Members/PBKSupremeCourtJustices.pdf Supreme Court Justices Who Are Phi Beta Kappa Members] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928082723/http://www.pbk.org/userfiles/file/Famous%20Members/PBKSupremeCourtJustices.pdf |date=September 28, 2011 }}, Phi Beta Kappa website<!-- accessed October 4, 2009 --></ref> He was selected as a [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]] and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (later promoted to a Master of Arts degree, [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|as per tradition]]) in Jurisprudence from [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], in 1963. He graduated in 1966 with a [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree from [[Harvard Law School]].
== Early career ==
In 1968, after two years as an [[Associate lawyer|associate]] at the law firm of Orr & Reno in [[Concord, New Hampshire]], Souter realized he disliked private practice<ref name="biography" /> and began his career in public service by accepting a position as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire. 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]].<ref name="biography" /> As a judge on the Superior Court he heard cases in two counties and was noted for his tough sentencing.<ref name="biography" /> With four years of trial court experience, Souter was appointed to the [[New Hampshire Supreme Court]] as an associate justice in 1983.<ref name="Gerstenzang, James">{{cite news |last1=Gerstenzang |first1=James |last2=Lauter |first2=David |title=Little-Known Judge Named to Replace Brennan on Court : Judiciary: David Souter served as New Hampshire justice and attorney general. He has no clear record on abortion. |url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-24/news/-mn-573_1_supreme573-court-justicestory.html |access-date=December 31, 2016 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 24, 1990 |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708054421/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-24/news/mn-573_1_supreme-court-justice |url-status=live }}</ref>
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 [[United States Senate|Senate]] on April 27, 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/101st-congress/1016|title=PN1016 - Nomination of David H. Souter for The Judiciary, 101st Congress (1989-1990)|date=April 27, 1990|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=June 27, 2017|archive-date=June 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628015442/https://www.congress.gov/nomination/101st-congress/1016|url-status=live}}</ref>
== U.S. Supreme Court appointment ==
[[File:David Souter at one of his confirmation hearings.jpg|thumb|left|Souter testifying during one of his confirmation hearings]]President George H. W. Bush originally considered appointingnominating [[Clarence Thomas]] to Brennan's seat, but he and his advisers decided that Thomas did not yet have enough experience as a judge.<ref name="abc news">Greenberg, Jan Crawford [https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3664944&page=1 Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919015232/http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3664944&page=1 |date=September 19, 2008 }}, [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], September 30, 2007<!-- accessed 2008-10-18 --></ref> Warren Rudman, who had since been elected to the U.S. Senate, and former [[New Hampshire Governor]] [[John H. Sununu]], then Bush's chief of staff, suggested Souter, and were instrumental in his nomination and confirmation. Bush was reportedly "highly impressed by Souter's intellectual seriousness" and Souter's intellect, "particularly impressive in one-on-one meetings", was reported to have been a persuasive factor in his nomination.<ref name="garrow" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 25, 1990 |title=And Then There Were 2 and Finally 1--Souter : Court: Nominee selected over Texas woman primarily for his lack of 'paper trail' on controversial issues. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-25-mn-972-story.html |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> At the time, few observers outside New Hampshire knew who Souter was,<ref name="nytimes">Greenhouse, Linda [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/03/news/souter-anchoring-the-court-s-new-center.html Souter Anchoring the Court's New Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508115350/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/03/news/souter-anchoring-the-court-s-new-center.html |date=May 8, 2017 }}, ''The New York Times'', July 3, 1992<!-- accessed 2008-06-27 --></ref> although he had reportedly been on Reagan's short list of nominees for the Supreme Court seat held by [[Lewis F. Powell Jr.]] that eventually went to [[Anthony Kennedy]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Greenhouse |first1=Linda |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=October 29, 1987 |title=A NEW CONTENDER IS SEEN FOR COURT |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/29/us/a-new-contender-is-seen-for-court.html |access-date=July 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Souter was seen as a "stealth justice" whose professional record in the state courts provoked littleno real controversy and provided a minimal "paper trail"<ref>Rosen, Jeffrey [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/opinion/02rosen.html "Stealth Justice"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207152532/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/opinion/02rosen.html |date=December 7, 2016 }}, ''The New York Times'', May 1, 2009<!-- retrieved May 10, 2009 --></ref> on issues of U.S. Constitutional law. Bush saw the lack of a paper trail as an asset, because one of [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s nominees, [[Robert Bork]], had been rejected by the Senate partially because of his extensive written opinions on controversial issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2m3B3oX|title=The Justice Who Built the Trump Court|last=Greenfield|first=Jeff|website=POLITICO Magazine|date=July 9, 2018 |language=en|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151028/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/09/david-souter-the-supreme-court-justice-who-built-the-trump-court-218953/|url-status=live}}</ref> Bush nominated Souter on July 25, 1990, saying that he did not know Souter's stances on [[abortion]], [[affirmative action]], or other issues.<ref name="biography" /><ref name="about">[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/a/supreme_court_3.htm US Supreme Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051128170158/http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/a/supreme_court_3.htm |date=November 28, 2005 }}, about.com</ref>
Senate confirmation hearings were held beginning on September 13, 1990. The [[National Organization for Women]] opposed Souter's nomination and held a rally outside the Senate during his confirmation hearings.<ref name="biography" /> The president of NOW, [[Molly Yard]], testified that Souter would "end freedom for women in this country."<ref name="washpost">Kamen, Al [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/18/AR2005091801188.html For Liberals, Easy Does It With Roberts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130055328/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/18/AR2005091801188.html |date=November 30, 2016 }}, ''The Washington Post'', September 19, 2005 <!-- accessdate 2008-06-28 --></ref> Souter was also opposed by the [[NAACP]], which urged its 500,000 members to write letters to their senators asking them to oppose the nomination.<ref name="nytimes naacp">Molotsky, Irvin [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/22/us/naacp-urges-souter-s-defeat-citing-earlier-statements-on-race.html N.A.A.C.P. Urges Souter's Defeat, Citing Earlier Statements on Race] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205065151/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/22/us/naacp-urges-souter-s-defeat-citing-earlier-statements-on-race.html |date=February 5, 2017 }}, ''The New York Times'', September 22, 1990 <!-- accessdate 2008-06-28 --></ref> 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:
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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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emkinstitute.org/resources/warren-rudman-oral-history-senator-new-hampshire|title=Warren Rudman Oral History, Senator, New Hampshire|last1=Boston|first1=Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Columbia Point 210 Morrissey Blvd|last2=Ma 02125|website=Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate|language=en|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018023502/https://www.emkinstitute.org/resources/warren-rudman-oral-history-senator-new-hampshire|url-status=live}}</ref>
== U.S. Supreme Court career ==
[[File:David Souter at HLS 1.jpg|thumb|right|Souter in 2009]]
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=== 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/24/us/conservative-says-sununu-assured-him-on-souter.html|title=Conservative Says Sununu Assured Him on Souter|last1=Shenon|first1=Philip|date=August 24, 1990|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 18, 2019|last2=Times|first2=Special To the New York|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018023454/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/24/us/conservative-says-sununu-assured-him-on-souter.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In his testimony before the Senate, he was thought by conservatives to be a [[strict constructionism|strict constructionist]] on constitutional matters, but he portrayed himself as aan moderate[[incrementalist]] who disliked radicaldrastic change and attached a high importance to [[precedent]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CHRG-SOUTER/pdf/GPO-CHRG-SOUTER.pdf|title=Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate on the Nomination of David H. Souter to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|date=September 19, 1990|website=govinfo.gov|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=January 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115202452/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CHRG-SOUTER/pdf/GPO-CHRG-SOUTER.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Roosevelt, Kermit.
[http://www.slate.com/id/2217434/pagenum/all/ Justice CincinnatusDavid Souter—a dying breed, the Yankee Republican] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124054617/http://www.slate.com/id/2217434/pagenum/all |date=January 24, 2010 }}, Slate, May 1, 2009.</ref> In the state attorney general's office and as a state Supreme Court judge, he had never been tested on matters of federal law.<ref name="abc news" />
After the appointment of Clarence Thomas, Souter moved toward the ideological middle.<ref name="nytimes" /> In the 1992 case ''[[Lee v. Weisman]]'', Souter voted with the liberal wing and against allowing prayer at a high school graduation ceremony.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Perrin|first=Marilyn|date=1994|title=Lee v. Weisman: Unanswered Prayers|url=http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1573&context=plr|journal=Pepperdine Law Review|volume=21|pages=250|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151021/https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1573&context=plr|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the 1992 case ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]'', Souter voted with the liberalmoderate wing in a majority decision in which the Court reaffirmed the essential holding in ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' but narrowed its scope. Justice [[Anthony Kennedy]] had considered overturning ''Roe'' and upholding all the restrictions at issue in ''Casey.'' Souter considered upholding all the restrictions but was uneasy about overturning ''Roe''. After consulting with O'Connor, the three (who came to be known as the "troika") developed a joint opinion that upheld all the restrictions in ''Casey'' except the mandatory notification of a husband while asserting the essential holding of ''Roe'', that the Constitution protects the right to an abortion.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Whitman|first=Christina|date=June 2002|title=Looking Back on Planned Parenthood v. Casey|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1321&context=articles|journal=Michigan Law Review|volume=100|issue=7|pages=1982|doi=10.2307/1556082|jstor=1556082|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921233900/http://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1321&context=articles|url-status=live}}</ref>
By the late 1990s, Souter began to align himself more with [[Stephen Breyer]] and [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], although as of 1995, he sided on more occasions with the more liberal<ref>Rosen, Jeffrey [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html The Dissenter: Majority of One, Stevens at the Supreme Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124133243/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html |date=November 24, 2020 }}, ''The New York Times'', September 23, 2007</ref> justice [[John Paul Stevens]] than either Breyer or Ginsburg, both Clinton appointees.<ref name="national review">Ponnuru, Ramesh [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n17_v47/ai_17374429 Empty Souter-Supreme Court Justice David Souter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917161658/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n17_v47/ai_17374429 |date=September 17, 2008 }}, ''National Review'', September 11, 1995 <!-- accessdate 2008-06-27 --></ref> O'Connor began to move to the center. On death penalty cases, [[worker rights|workers' rights]] cases, [[defendants' rights]] cases, and other issues, Souter began increasingly voting with the Court's liberals,<ref>(see [[Segal-Cover score]])</ref> and later came to be considered part of the Court's liberal wing. Because of this, many conservatives view Souter's appointment an error of the Bush presidency.<ref>Greenfield, Jeff [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/09/david-souter-the-supreme-court-justice-who-built-the-trump-court-218953 David Souter: The Justice Who Built The Trump Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710164046/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/09/david-souter-the-supreme-court-justice-who-built-the-trump-court-218953 |date=July 10, 2018 }} ''Politico Magazine'', July 9, 2018</ref> 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 "Gonzales is Spanish for Souter".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQxqXLSy9wcC&q=gonzales+is+spanish+for+souter&pg=PA246|title=Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court|last=Greenburg|first=Jan Crawford|date=2007|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9781594201011|pages=246|language=en|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151022/https://books.google.com/books?id=SQxqXLSy9wcC&q=gonzales+is+spanish+for+souter&pg=PA246|url-status=live}}</ref>
A ''Wall Street Journal'' opinion piece ten years after Souter's 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."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB951789438683921325|title=Chief Justice Souter?|date=February 29, 2000|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=October 18, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018023452/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB951789438683921325|url-status=live}}</ref> Rudman wrote in his memoir that he had "suspected all along" that Souter would not "overturn activist liberal precedents."<ref name="biography" /> Sununu later said that he had "a lot of disappointment" in Souter's positions on the Court and would have preferred him to be more like [[Antonin Scalia]].<ref name="biography" /> In contrast, President Bush said several years after Souter's appointment that he was proud of Souter's "outstanding" service and "outstanding intellect" and that Souter would "serve for years on the Court, and he will serve with honor always and with brilliance".<ref name=garrow>{{Cite news |last=Garrow |first=David J. |date=September 25, 1994 |title=Justice Souter Emerges |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/25/magazine/justice-souter-emerges.html |access-date=July 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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==== ''Planned Parenthood v. Casey'' ====
In the 1992 case ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]'', the Supreme Court upheld the right to abortion as established by the "essential holding" of ''[[Roe v. Wade]] ''(1973) and issued as its "key judgment" the imposition of the [[undue burden standard]] when evaluating state-imposed restrictions on that right. The controlling [[plurality opinion]] in the case was joined by Souter, [[Anthony Kennedy]] and [[Sandra Day O'Connor]]. Souter is widely believed to have written the section of the opinion that addresses the issue of ''[[Precedent|stare decisis]]'' and set out a four-part test in determining whether to overrule a prior decision.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wermiel |first=Stephen |date=October 2, 2019 |title=SCOTUS for law students: Supreme Court precedent |url=https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/10/scotus-for-law-students-supreme-court-precedent/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=SCOTUSblog}}</ref> [[David Garrow]] later called that section "the most eloquent section of the opinion" and said it includes "two paragraphs that rank among the most memorable lines ever authored by an American jurist".<ref name=garrow/>
==== ''Bush v. Gore'' ====
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=== Relationship with other justices ===
[[File:USSCRehnquist justiceCourt groupin photo-2005 current1994.jpg|thumb|Justice Souter (second from the left in the back row) on the [[Rehnquist Court]]]]
Souter worked well with [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] and had a good relationship with both her and her husband during her days on the court.<ref name="biography" /> He generally had a good working relationship with every justice, but was particularly fond of [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], and considered [[John Paul Stevens]] to be the "smartest" justice.<ref name="biography" />
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=== Retirement ===
[[File:Justice david souter harvard commencement 2010.JPG|thumb|Souter receiving an honorary degree from [[Harvard University]] on May 27, 2010]]
Long before the election of President Obama, Souter had expressed a desire to leave [[Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C]]., and return to New Hampshire.<ref name=wapo043009>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Robert |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043004361.html |title=Souter Reportedly Planning to Retire From High Court |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 1, 2009 |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-date=April 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401163228/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043004361.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/justice-souter-longs-for-rural-hideaway/|title=Justice Souter longs for rural hideaway|last=Rucker|first=Philip|date=May 3, 2009|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018023501/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/justice-souter-longs-for-rural-hideaway/|url-status=live}}</ref> The election of a Democratic president in 2008 may have made Souter more inclined to retire, but he did not want to create a situation in which there would be multiple vacancies at once.<ref name="npr_20090430">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103694193|title=Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire|last1=Totenberg|first1=Nina|date=April 30, 2009|work=NPR|access-date=May 29, 2009|archive-date=May 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504031636/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103694193|url-status=live}}</ref> Souter apparently became satisfied that no other justices planned to retire at the end of the Supreme Court's term in June 2009.<ref name=npr_20090430 /> As a result, in mid-April 2009 he privately notified the White House of his intent to retire at the conclusion of that term.<ref name=nyt_20090528>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |last2=Nagourney |first2=Adam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/us/politics/28select.html |title=Sotomayor Pick a Product of Lessons From Past Battles |work=The New York Times |date=May 28, 2009 |access-date=May 29, 2009 |archive-date=March 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316085646/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/us/politics/28select.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Souter sent Obama a retirement letter on May 1, effective at the start of the Supreme Court's 2009 summer recess.<ref name="Souter Resignation letter-2009-05-01">{{cite news| work = New York Times| date = May 1, 2009| title = David H. Souter Letter to President Obama, May 1, 2009| url = http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20090501_Souter.pdf| last = Souter| first = David H.| access-date = May 20, 2010| archive-date = May 21, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090521064919/http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20090501_Souter.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> Later that day Obama made an unscheduled appearance during the daily White House press briefing to announce Souter's retirement.<ref name=nyt_20090501>[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/obama-announces-souters-retirement/ Obama Announces Souter Retirement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504171832/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/obama-announces-souters-retirement/ |date=May 4, 2009 }}, ''The New York Times'', Caucus Blog, May 1, 2009</ref> On May 26, 2009, Obama announced his nomination of federal appeals court judge [[Sonia Sotomayor]]. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 6.
On June 29, 2009, the last day of the Court's 2008–092008–2009 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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Kate |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/souter-and-justices-exchange-farewells/ |title=Souter and Justices Exchange Farewells |work=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2009 |access-date=July 9, 2009 |archive-date=July 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703072317/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/souter-and-justices-exchange-farewells/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Souter's papers have been donated to the [[New Hampshire Historical Society]] and will not be made public until at least 50 years after his death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gresko |first=Jessica |date=May 11, 2022 |title=For Supreme Court justices, secrecy is part of the job |url=https://apnews.com/article/covid-us-supreme-court-health-87c198ea3de079eaf3121ffeb4985ba0 |access-date=May 16, 2022 |website=[[Associated Press]] |language=en}}</ref>
== Post-Supreme Court career ==
As a Supreme Court justice with retired status, Souter remains a judge and is entitled to sit [[by designation]] on lower courts. After his retirement from the Supreme Court and until 2020, he regularly sat by designation on panels of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit|First Circuit Court of Appeals]], based in Boston and covering Maine, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and his adopted home state of New Hampshire, generally in February or March of each year, but he did not do so in 2021 or 2022.<ref name="2010report">{{cite web
|title = First Circuit 2010 Annual Report
|url = http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/oce/2010AnnualReport.pdf
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|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142226/http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/oce/2010AnnualReport.pdf
|url-status = live
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/06/21/first-circuit-upholds-firearms-restrictions.htm |title=First Circuit Upholds Firearms Restrictions|author=Carrano, Gina|access-date=August 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626075641/http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/06/21/first-circuit-upholds-firearms-restrictions.htm |archive-date=June 26, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of April 2024, Souter had not sat by designation with the First Circuit for several years, and was not expected to do so that fall either.<ref>{{UpdateCite news after|2022last=Raymond |12first=Nate |date=2024-04-06 |title=Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer to hear cases on appeals court |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/retired-us-supreme-court-justice-breyer-hear-cases-appeals-court-2024-04-05/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
reason=True as of Nov. 2022. Refer to http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/calendar.pdf which changes on ~monthly basis. So check in Dec/Jan/Feb to verify. Unclear if skipping 2021 is meaningful, given the pandemic and all.}}
Souter has maintained a low public profile since retiring from the Supreme Court. ButIn inone 2016exception, comments he made during a 2012 appearance at the [[Capitol Center for the Arts]] in New Hampshire about the dangers of "civic ignorance" were, in 2016, called "remarkably prescient" of the [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|presidential campaign]] of [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Souter warned of a Trump-like candidate in prescient remarks |url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/souter-warned-trump-candidate-prescient-remarks-msna916691 |access-date=July 4, 2022 |website=MSNBC.com |date=October 21, 2016 |language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Once named by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' as one of ''Washington's 10 Most Eligible Bachelors'',<ref name="biography" /> Souter has never married, though he was once engaged.<ref>Totenberg, Nina [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103694193 "Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504031636/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103694193 |date=May 4, 2009 }}, NPR, April 30, 2009</ref> He is an [[Episcopalian]].<ref>{{cite web |title=David Souter Fast Facts |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/david-souter-fast-facts/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=22 October 2023 |language=en |date=26 July 2013}}</ref>
Souter was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1994,<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=David+Souter&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> and the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|title=David Souter|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/david-souter|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|language=en}}</ref>
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In 2004, Souter was mugged while jogging between his home and the [[Fort Lesley J. McNair]] Army Base in Washington, DC. He suffered minor injuries from the event, visiting the [[MedStar Washington Hospital Center]] for treatment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/us/justice-souter-is-attacked-while-jogging.html|title=Justice Souter Is Attacked While Jogging|date=May 2, 2004|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824021227/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/us/justice-souter-is-attacked-while-jogging.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The problem led to public questioning of the [[Supreme Court Police]]'s security detail, which was not present at the time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Blackmun, Harry A. (1908-1999), Supreme Court justice|last=Yarbrough|first=Tinsley E.|date=January 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|series=American National Biography Online|doi = 10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1101205}}</ref>
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-mailemail, and has no cell phonecellphone or answering machine. While serving on the Supreme Court, he preferred to drive back to New Hampshire for the summer, where he enjoyed mountain climbing.<ref name="biography" /> Souter has also done his own home repairs<ref name="NYT">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/us/04souter.html A No-Frills Embrace for a Low-Key Justice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403195925/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/us/04souter.html |date=April 3, 2016 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 3, 2009</ref> and is known for his daily lunch of an apple and unflavored yogurt.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/13611101|title=Following Souter|date=May 7, 2009|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=March 13, 2017|issn=0013-0613|archive-date=July 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731045016/http://www.economist.com/node/13611101|url-status=live}}</ref>
Former Supreme Court correspondent [[Linda Greenhouse]] wrote of Souter: "to focus on his eccentricities—his daily lunch of yogurt and an apple, core and all; the absence of a computer in his personal office—is to miss the essence of a man who in fact is perfectly suited to his job, just not to its trappings. His polite but persistent questioning of lawyers who appear before the court displays his meticulous preparation and his mastery of the case at hand and the cases relevant to it. Far from being out of touch with the modern world, he has simply refused to surrender to it control over aspects of his own life that give him deep contentment: hiking, sailing, time with old friends, reading history."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/weekinreview/03greenhouse.html|title=David H. Souter: Justice Unbound|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=May 2, 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 13, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626230006/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/weekinreview/03greenhouse.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In early August 2009, Souter moved from his family farmhouse in [[Weare, New Hampshire|Weare]] to a [[Cape Cod (house)|Cape Cod-style]] single-floor homehouse in nearby [[Hopkinton, New Hampshire]], a town in [[Merrimack County]] northeast of Weare and immediately west of the state capital of [[Concord, New Hampshire|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.<ref name="nyt 20090803">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/us/04souter.html Off the Bench, Souter Leaves Farmhouse Behind] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124022703/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/us/04souter.html |date=November 24, 2015 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 3, 2009</ref>
Over the years, Souter has served on hospital boards and civic committees.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/24/us/man-in-the-news-an-intellectual-mind-david-hackett-souter.html |title=An 'Intellectual Mind': David Hackett Souter |author=Linda Greenhouse |work=The New York Times |date=July 24, 1990 |access-date=March 7, 2011 |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112154658/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/24/us/man-in-the-news-an-intellectual-mind-david-hackett-souter.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/05/20/whats-in-souters-future-civics-for-starters/ |title=What's in Souter's Future? Civics, for Starters |author=Ashby Jones |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 20, 2009 |access-date=March 7, 2011 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118111118/http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/05/20/whats-in-souters-future-civics-for-starters/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He is a former honorary co-chair of the [[We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution|We the People]] National Advisory Committee.<ref>[http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=national_advisory_committee National Advisory Committee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316055838/http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=national_advisory_committee |date=March 16, 2009 }}<!-- accessed 2009-05-10 --></ref>
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[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]]
[[Category:New Hampshire Attorneysattorneys Generalgeneral]]
[[Category:New Hampshire Republicans]]
[[Category:Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court]]