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David Souter
David Hackett Souter was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 until 2009. He filled the seat vacated by Justice William Brennan. He was nominated to the Court by Republican President George H. W. Bush on July 25, 1990, and received his commission on October 3, 1990.[1]
Justice Souter retired from the court on June 30, 2009, at the end of the 2008-09 term. Souter's retirement created the first opening for President Obama to make an appointment to the Supreme Court.[2] He died on May 8, 2025.[3]
Souter was one of two justices nominated to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush. Souter served on The Burger Court and The Rehnquist Court.
Early life and education
Souter was born in Melrose, Massachusetts.[4] He went on to Harvard College, from which he received his A.B., concentrating in philosophy and writing a senior thesis on the legal positivism of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. In 1961, Souter graduated from Harvard 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.[1]
Professional career
Souter worked as an associate at Orr & Reno in Concord, New Hampshire from 1966 to 1968. He accepted a position as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire in 1968, beginning his lifelong career in 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. Rudman resigned to enter private practice in 1976, and Souter succeeded him as the Attorney General of New Hampshire.[1]
State judicial career
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Souter was appointed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court as an Associate Justice in 1983.[1]
Federal judicial career
First Circuit
Souter received a commission to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on April 30, 1990, nominated by George H. W. Bush on January 24, 1990. He was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Hugh Bownes. His vacancy was filled by Norman Stahl.[1]
Supreme Court
Warren Rudman, later elected a Senator, and former New Hampshire governor John Sununu — then chief of staff to President George H. W. Bush — were instrumental in both Souter's nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court. Prior to Sununu's recommendation, few observers outside of New Hampshire knew who Souter was, although he had been mentioned by The New York Times as one of Reagan's four top nominees for the Supreme Court slot that eventually went to Anthony Kennedy. Rudman had recommended Souter to Reagan's chief of staff Howard Baker for both a federal judgeship and the Supreme Court.[5]
Bush originally wanted to appoint Clarence Thomas to Brennan's seat, but ultimately decided that Thomas had not yet had enough experience as a federal judge and decided to recommend Souter for the post instead.[6] President Bush nominated Souter as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on July 25, 1990, and Souter took his seat on October 9, 1990, shortly after the United States Senate confirmed him by a vote of 90-9 after the Senate Judiciary Committee reported out the nomination by a vote of 14-3. Nine senators voted against Souter's confirmation in the U.S. Senate.[7]
After Souter 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."
He retired from the court on June 30, 2009, and his vacancy was filled by Sonia Sotomayor. Souter died on May 8, 2025.[3]
See also
External links
- Biographies:
- Legal profiles:
- Financial information:
- Issue positions:
- Nomination:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
- Associated Press "Justice Souter may be retired, but he still works," May 27, 2010
- Souter Returns to the Granite State, The National Law Journal, August 17, 2009
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Souter Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- ↑ New York Times, "Souter Says He Will Leave Supreme Court in June," May 1, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 U.S. Supreme Court, "Press releases," May 9, 2025
- ↑ David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court, Yarbrough, Tinsley, Oxford University Press, 2005
- ↑ The New York Times, "Souter Anchoring the Court's New Center," July 3, 1992
- ↑ ABC News, "Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out"
- ↑ About.com, "US Supreme Court"
Portions of this article were taken from Wikipedia under the GNU license.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Hugh Bownes |
First Circuit 1990–1990 Seat #2 |
Succeeded by: Norman Stahl |
| Preceded by: William Brennan |
Supreme Court 1990–present Seat #4 |
Succeeded by: Sonia Sotomayor
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: David Barron • Gustavo Gelpí • Lara Montecalvo • Julie Rikelman • Seth Aframe | ||
| Senior judges |
Levin Hicks Campbell • Jeffrey R. Howard • Kermit Lipez • Sandra Lea Lynch • O. Rogeriee Thompson • William Kayatta • | ||
| Former judges | Stephen Breyer • David Souter • Norman Stahl • Bruce Marshall Selya • Michael Boudin • Juan Torruella • Hugh Bownes • Benjamin Bourne • John A. Lowell • Jeremiah Smith • John Lowell (federal judge, 1865-1884) • George Foster Shepley • LeBaron Bradford Colt • William LeBaron Putnam • Francis Cabot Lowell • Frederic Dodge • James Madison Morton • William Schofield • George Weston Anderson • George Hutchins Bingham • Charles Fletcher Johnson • Scott Wilson (Maine) • John Christopher Mahoney • Calvert Magruder • Bailey Aldrich • John Patrick Hartigan • Frank Coffin • Edward McEntee • Peter Woodbury • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Stephen Breyer • Levin Hicks Campbell • Jeffrey R. Howard • Michael Boudin • Juan Torruella • Sandra Lea Lynch • Calvert Magruder • Bailey Aldrich • Frank Coffin • Peter Woodbury • | ||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 |
Barksdale • Bonner • Buckwalter • Cyr • Fernandez • Garbis • Harmon • Lee • Lindberg • Lodge • Nelson • Nottingham • Plager • Rosen • Rymer • Smith • Spatt • Thomas • VanBebber • J. Walker • V. Walker • Wiener • Wright | ||
| 1990 |
Alito • Amon • Birch • Boudin • Cleland • Clevenger • Dubina • Hamilton • Henderson • Hood • Hornby • Jones • Kent • Levi • Loken • Lourie • Martin • McBryde • McClure • McKenna • McLaughlin • McNamee • Moreno • Mullen • Nelson • Nickerson • Niemeyer • Norton • Parker • Pickering • Rader • Rainey • Randolph • Shanstrom • Shedd • Shubb • Singleton • Skretny • Souter • Sparr • Stahl • Stamp • Suhrheinrich • Taylor • Vollmer • Ware • Wilson | ||
| 1991 |
Albritton • Andersen • Armstrong • Arnold • Bartle • Bassler • Batchelder • Beckwith • Belot • Benson • Blackburn • Bramlette • Brody • Brody • Burrell • Carnes • Caulfield • Cauthron • Clement • Collier • Conway • Cooper • Dalzell • DeMent • DeMoss • Doherty • Echols • Edmunds • Faber • Freeh • Gaitan • Garza • Graham • Haik • Hamilton • Hansen • Hendren • Herlong • Highsmith • Hogan • Huff • Hurley • Irenas • Johnson • Joyner • Kelly • Kleinfeld • Legg • Leonard • Lewis • Longstaff • Lungstrum • Luttig • Matia • McCalla • McDade • McKeague • McKelvie • Means • Merryday • Moore • Morgan • Nielsen • Nimmons • Osteen Sr. • Padova • Payne • Reinhard • Robinson • Robreno • Roll • Roth • Schlesinger • Scullin • Siler • Solis • Sotomayor • Sparks • Stohr • Thomas • Traxler • Trimble • Ungaro • Van Sickle • Wanger • Werlein • Whyte • Yohn | ||
| 1992 |
Baird • Barbadoro • Black • Boudin • Carnes • Covello • DiClerico • Gilbert • Gonzalez • Gorton • Hansen • Heyburn • Jackson • Jacobs • Keeley • Kendall • Kopf • Kyle • Lewis • McAuliffe • McLaughlin • Melloy • Preska • Quist • Randa • Rosenthal • Rovner • Schall • Sedwick • Simandle • Stahl • Vratil • Williams | ||
Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Hampshire • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Hampshire
State courts:
New Hampshire Supreme Court • New Hampshire Superior Courts • New Hampshire Circuit Courts • New Hampshire Probate Courts • New Hampshire District Court • New Hampshire Family Division
State resources:
Courts in New Hampshire • New Hampshire judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Hampshire