For other people named David Souter, see David Souter (disambiguation).
David Souter
Official portrait, 1990
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office October 9, 1990 – June 29, 2009[1]
Nominated by
George H. W. Bush
Preceded by
William J. Brennan Jr.
Succeeded by
Sonia Sotomayor
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
In office May 25, 1990 – October 9, 1990
Nominated by
George H. W. Bush
Preceded by
Hugh H. Bownes
Succeeded by
Norman H. Stahl
Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
In office 1983–1990
Nominated by
John Sununu
Preceded by
Maurice Bois
Succeeded by
Sherman Horton
Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court
In office 1978–1983
20th Attorney General of New Hampshire
In office July 17, 1976 – September 19, 1978
Governor
Meldrim Thomson Jr.
Preceded by
Warren Rudman
Succeeded by
Thomas D. Rath
Personal details
Born
David Hackett Souter
(1939-09-17) September 17, 1939 (age 84) Melrose, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party
Republican[2]
Education
Harvard University (BA, LLB) Magdalen College, Oxford (MA)
Signature
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David Hackett Souter (/ˈsuːtər/SOO-tər; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009.[3] 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 and the Roberts courts.
Raised in New England, Souter attended Harvard College, Magdalen College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. After briefly working in private practice, he moved to public service. He served as a prosecutor (1966–1968) in the New Hampshire Attorney General's office (1968–1976), as the attorney general of New Hampshire (1976–1978), as an associate justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire (1978–1983), as an associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court (1983–1990), and briefly as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1990).[4]
Souter was nominated to the Supreme Court without a significant "paper trail" but was expected to be a conservative justice. Within a few years of his appointment, Souter moved towards the ideological center. He eventually came to vote reliably with the Court's liberal wing.[4][5] In mid-2009, after Democrat Barack Obama took office as U.S. president, Souter announced his retirement from the Court; he was succeeded by Sonia Sotomayor. Souter has continued to hear cases by designation at the circuit court level.
^"Justices 1789 to Present". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
^Barnes, Robert; Shackelford, Lucy (February 12, 2008). "As on Bench, Voting Styles Are Personal". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
^"Press Release". Supreme Court of the United States. February 13, 2009. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
^ ab"David H. Souter". The New York Times. August 3, 2017. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
^Baker, Peter; Zeleny, Jeff (May 1, 2009). "Souter's Exit to Give Obama First Opening". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
David Hackett Souter (/ˈsuːtər/ SOO-tər; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme...
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