David Souter: Former Supreme Court Justice's Life and Legacy

Passing of Justice David Souter

• 🕯️ Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter has died at the age of 85.
• 🗓️ Appointed in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, Souter served on the court until his retirement in 2009.

Early Life and Career

• 🏡 Born near Boston in 1939, Souter moved to his grandparents' New Hampshire farm at age 11 and often returned there.
• 🎓 He graduated from Harvard and later served as New Hampshire's Attorney General and on the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Tenure

• 👤 Dubbed the "stealth candidate" during his 1990 confirmation due to a perceived lack of defined stances on controversial issues.
• ⚖️ He often surprised observers by siding with the court's more liberal justices during his nearly two decades on the bench.
• 📌 In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Souter was part of the majority that reaffirmed a woman's right to abortion.
• 🗳️ He was in the minority in Bush v. Gore (2000), which ended Florida's ballot recount and secured George W. Bush's presidential victory.

Post-Supreme Court Career

• 🏛️ Souter stepped down from the Supreme Court in 2009, calling it "the world's best job in the world's worst city."
• 🧑‍⚖️ He continued to serve as a judge on the federal appeals court in Boston, hearing hundreds of cases after his Supreme Court retirement.