View source for David Souter

{{Short description|American lawyer and jurist (1939–2025)}}
{{other people|David Souter}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = David Souter
| image               = DavidSouter.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1990
| office              = [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
| nominator           = [[George H. W. Bush]]
| term_start          = October 9, 1990<!-- Term start date as per www.supremecourt.gov, reflects date oath taken -->
| term_end            = June 29, 2009
| predecessor         = [[William J. Brennan Jr.]]
| successor           = [[Sonia Sotomayor]]
| office1             = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]]
| nominator1          = George H. W. Bush
| term_start1         = May 25, 1990
| term_end1           = October 9, 1990
| predecessor1        = [[Hugh H. Bownes]]
| successor1          = [[Norman H. Stahl]]
| office2             = Associate Justice of the [[New Hampshire Supreme Court]]
| nominator2          = [[John H. Sununu|John Sununu]]
| term_start2         = 1983
| term_end2           = 1990
| predecessor2        = Maurice Bois
| successor2          = Sherman Horton
| order4              = 20th
| office4             = Attorney General of New Hampshire
| governor4           = [[Meldrim Thomson Jr.]]
| term_start4         = July 17, 1976
| term_end4           = September 19, 1978
| predecessor4        = [[Warren Rudman]]
| successor4          = [[Thomas D. Rath]]
| birth_name          = David Hackett Souter
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1939|09|17}}
| birth_place         = {{nowrap|[[Melrose, Massachusetts]], U.S.}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2025|05|08|1939|09|17}}
| death_place         = [[Hopkinton, New Hampshire]], U.S.
| 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           = {{Unbulleted list|[[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[LLB]])|[[Magdalen College, Oxford]] ([[MA (Oxon)|MA]])}}<!-- An Oxon MA is NOT earned, it's a promotion per tradition. -->
| signature           = Souter signature.png
| module              = {{Listen voice |filename=David Souter delivers the opinion of the Court in Clark v. Arizona.ogg |title=Souter's voice |description=Souter delivering the ''[[Clark v. Arizona]]'' majority opinion. |recorded=June 29, 2006}}
}}

'''David Hackett Souter''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|uː|t|ər}} {{respell|SOO|tər}}; September 17, 1939 – May 8, 2025) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1990 until his retirement in 2009.<ref name=SCOTUSjustices>{{cite web| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx| title= Justices 1789 to Present| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref><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 was a member of both the [[Rehnquist Court|Rehnquist]] and [[Roberts Court|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 in the office of the [[Attorney General of New Hampshire]] (1968–1976); as attorney general of New Hampshire (1976–1978); as an associate justice of the [[New Hampshire Superior Court]] (1978–1983); as an associate justice of the [[New Hampshire Supreme Court]] (1983–1990); and as a judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]] (1990).<ref name="nytimesprofile">{{cite news |date=August 3, 2017 |title=David H. Souter |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_h_souter/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906031707/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_h_souter/index.html |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |access-date=October 11, 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In mid-2009, after [[Barack Obama]] took office as U.S. president, Souter announced his retirement from the Court; he was succeeded by [[Sonia Sotomayor]]. Souter continued to hear cases [[by designation]] at the [[United States courts of appeals|circuit court level]].

== 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 Americans|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 a [[Bachelor of Arts]], ''[[Latin honors#magna cum laude|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]].<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/us/david-souter-dead.html|title=David H. Souter, Republican Justice Who Allied With Court's Liberal Wing, Dies at 85|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 9, 2025|accessdate=May 9, 2025}}</ref>

== Early career ==
In 1968, after two years as an [[Associate attorney|associate]] at the law firm of Orr & Reno in [[Concord, New Hampshire]], Souter began his career in public service by accepting a position as an assistant attorney general of New Hampshire. In 1971, [[Warren Rudman]], then the [[Attorney General of New Hampshire|attorney general of New Hampshire]], selected Souter as deputy attorney general.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/david-souter-fast-facts/index.html| title= David Souter Fast Facts| date= July 26, 2013| publisher=CNN |access-date=October 26, 2024}}</ref> Souter succeeded Rudman as New Hampshire attorney general in 1976.<ref name=NYTobit/>

In 1978, Souter was named an associate justice of the [[New Hampshire Superior Court]].<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://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-24-mn-573-story.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 to 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 initially considered nominating [[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 [[Governor of New Hampshire]] [[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 |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 no 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 the Senate had rejected one of [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s nominees, [[Robert Bork]], 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 began on September 13, 1990. The [[National Organization for Women]] opposed Souter's nomination and held a rally outside the Senate during the 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, he summed up the lessons he had learned as a judge of the New Hampshire courts:

{{blockquote|The first lesson, simple as it is, is that whatever court we are in, whatever we are doing, whether we are in a trial court or an appellate court, at the end of our task some human being is going to be affected. Some human life is going to be changed in some way by what we do, whether we do it as trial judges or whether we do it as appellate judges, as far removed from the trial arena as it is possible to be. And so we had better use every power of our minds and our hearts and our beings to get those rulings right.<ref>[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/sh101-1263/49-52.pdf Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Senate Hearing 101–1263] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106221819/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/sh101-1263/49-52.pdf |date=January 6, 2010 }}, Hearings on the Nomination of David H. Souter, September 13, 1990.</ref>}}

Some have pointed to Souter's confirmation hearings as showing the first signs of the liberal bent of his legal principles. He surprised many conservatives when, prompted by Senator [[Chuck Grassley]] to describe his views on "judicial activism" and "government by the judiciary", he responded, "Courts must accept their own responsibility for making a just society."<ref name="NYTobit" /> He added that the court was obligated to respond to pressing social concerns that were addressed by the Constitution but which other branches of government had failed to take up.<ref name="NYTobit" />

Despite organized opposition by numerous civil society groups, Souter won confirmation easily, with all votes in opposition coming from Democrats.<ref name="NYTobit" /><ref name="presidential leadership">Taranto, James and Leo, Leonard [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZrl2NaIpGUC&pg=PA235 "Presidential Leadership"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407024748/http://books.google.com/books?id=oZrl2NaIpGUC&pg=PA235 |date=April 7, 2015 }}, Free Press, 2004</ref> His performance at the confirmation hearings ensured his approval by the Senate; [[Walter Dellinger]], a liberal Democrat and an adviser to the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]], called Souter "the most intellectually impressive nominee I've ever seen".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Greenhouse |first1=Linda |date=September 17, 1990 |title=The 'Not Bork' Test; Senators Know What Judge Souter Isn't, But a Question Remains: Is That Enough? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/17/us/not-bork-test-senators-know-what-judge-souter-isn-t-but-question-remains-that.html |access-date=July 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hensley |first1=Thomas R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGLZyxI_w9kC&dq=%22souter%27s+performance%22+senate+hearing&pg=PA82 |title=The Rehnquist Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy |last2=Hale |first2=Kathleen |last3=Snook |first3=Carl |page=82 |date=2006 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-200-4 |language=en}}</ref> The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out the nomination by a vote of 13–1, with [[Ted Kennedy]] the lone dissenter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judiciary Committee Votes On Recent Supreme Court Nominees {{!}} United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/supreme-court/committee-votes |access-date=July 6, 2022 |website=www.judiciary.senate.gov |language=en}}</ref> The full Senate confirmed the nomination on October 2, 1990, by a vote of 90–9 ([[Pete Wilson]] of [[California]] was absent due to campaigning for the [[1990 California gubernatorial election|state's gubernatorial election]], which he won).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate|date=October 2, 1990|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=136|issue=19|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=26959|edition=Bound|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1990-pt19/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1990-pt19-2-1.pdf|access-date=July 8, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/101st-congress/1414|title=PN1414 - Nomination of David H. Souter for Supreme Court of the United States, 101st Congress (1989-1990)|date=October 2, 1990|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=June 27, 2017|archive-date=April 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407183814/https://www.congress.gov/nomination/101st-congress/1414|url-status=live}}</ref> Souter was [[Oath of office#Federal judiciary oaths|sworn into office]] seven days after his confirmation.<ref name="SCOTUSjustices" />

Nine senators voted against Souter: Kennedy and [[John Kerry]] of [[Massachusetts]]; [[Bill Bradley]] and [[Frank Lautenberg]] of [[New Jersey]]; [[Brock Adams]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]]; [[Daniel Akaka]] of [[Hawaii]]; [[Quentin Burdick]] of [[North Dakota]]; [[Alan Cranston]] of [[California]]; and [[Barbara Mikulski]] of [[Maryland]]. They painted Souter as a right-winger in the mold of [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|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 ==
[[File:David Souter at HLS 1.jpg|thumb|right|Souter in 2009]]
Souter opposed having cameras in the Supreme Court during oral arguments, saying the media would take questions out of context and the proceedings would be politicized.<ref name="AP">[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/30/us/on-cameras-in-supreme-court-souter-says-over-my-dead-body.html On Cameras in Supreme Court, Souter Says, 'Over My Dead Body'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729085122/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/30/us/on-cameras-in-supreme-court-souter-says-over-my-dead-body.html |date=July 29, 2018 }}, ''The New York Times'', March 30, 1996 <!-- accessed 2009-10-14 --></ref>

Souter served as the Court's designated representative to Congress on at least one occasion, testifying before committees about the Court's needs for additional funding to refurbish its building and for other projects.<ref name="biography" />

=== Judicial philosophy ===
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|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 18, 2019|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, Souter was thought by conservatives to be a [[strict constructionism|strict constructionist]] on constitutional matters, but he portrayed himself as an [[Incrementalism|incrementalist]] who disliked drastic 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 moderate 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|url-access=subscription}}</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 with 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> On death penalty cases, [[Labor rights|workers' rights]] cases, [[Criminal procedure#Basic rights|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 as 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]  ''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> Conversely, [[Ted Kennedy]], one of nine senators to have voted against Souter's confirmation, later expressed regret about his vote.<ref>{{Cite web |title = Ted Kennedy Discusses Current Congressional Issues|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/en/date/2001-07-21/segment/00|date = July 21, 2001}}</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=The 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>

=== Notable decisions ===
==== ''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 decision]] in the case was joined by Souter, Kennedy and 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/ |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'' ====
In 2000, Souter voted along with three other justices in ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'' to allow the presidential election recount to continue, while the majority voted to end the recount.<ref name="Dersh"/> The decision allowed the declaration of [[George W. Bush]] as the winner of the election in Florida to stand.<ref name="Dersh">{{cite book|last=Dershowitz|first=Alan|url=https://archive.org/details/supremeinjustice00alan_0/page/174|title=Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000|pages=174, 198|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001}}</ref>

In his 2007 book ''[[The Nine (book)|The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court]]'', [[Jeffrey Toobin]] wrote of Souter's reaction to ''Bush v. Gore'':<!-- please do not use template:cquote, as this gives too much weight to these words. -->
{{blockquote|Toughened, or coarsened, by their worldly lives, the other dissenters could shrug and move on, but Souter couldn't. His whole life was being a judge. He came from a tradition where the independence of the judiciary was the foundation of the rule of law. And Souter believed ''Bush v. Gore'' mocked that tradition. His colleagues' actions were so transparently, so crudely partisan that Souter thought he might not be able to serve with them anymore. Souter seriously considered resigning. For many months, it was not at all clear whether he would remain as a justice. That the Court met in a city he loathed made the decision even harder. At the urging of a handful of close friends, he decided to stay on, but his attitude toward the Court was never the same. There were times when David Souter thought of ''Bush v. Gore'' and wept.<ref name="wsjlawblog">[https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/09/06/did-bush-v-gore-make-justice-souter-weep/ Did Bush v. Gore Make Justice Souter Weep?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125112833/https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/09/06/did-bush-v-gore-make-justice-souter-weep/ |date=November 25, 2017 }}, ''The Wall Street Journal'', September 6, 2007<!-- accessdate 2008-06-27 --></ref>}}

The above passage was disputed by Souter's longtime friend Warren Rudman. Rudman told the ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' that while Souter was discomfited by ''Bush v. Gore'', it was not true that he had broken down into tears over it.<ref name="wsjlawblog" />

=== Relationship with other justices ===
[[File:Rehnquist Court in 1994.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" />{{rp|258}}

=== International recognition ===
Even though Souter had never traveled outside the United States during his years with the Supreme Court, he still gained significant recognition abroad. In 1995, a series of articles based on his written opinions and titled "Souter Court" was published by a Moscow legal journal, ''The Russian Justice''. Those were followed by a book, written in Russian and bearing Souter's name in the title.<ref>Петр Баренбойм, "3000 лет доктрины разделения властей: Суд Сьютера", M., 1996. / Petr Barenboim, "3000 years of the separation of powers doctrine: Souter court", Moscow, 1996; 2nd ed., 2003. / {{ISBN|5-7619-0015-7}}, http://lccn.loc.gov/2001434516 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151037/https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=2001434516&searchType=1&permalink=y |date=November 8, 2021 }}</ref> Justice of the [[Constitutional Court of Russia|Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation]] Yury Danilov, reviewing the 2nd edition of the book in a Moscow English-language daily, made the following remark on Souter's position in ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'': "In a most critical and delicate situation, David Souter had maintained the independence of his position and in this respect had become a symbol of the independence of the judiciary."<ref>Yury Danilov, The Judiciary: From Samuel to Souter, ''The Moscow News'', October 15, 2003.</ref><ref>Peter Barenboim, [http://www.florentine-society.ru/pdf/Biblical_Roots_of_Separation_of_Powers.pdf «Biblical Roots of Separation of Powers», Moscow, 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102024341/http://www.florentine-society.ru/pdf/Biblical_Roots_of_Separation_of_Powers.pdf |date=November 2, 2012 }}, p.163, {{ISBN|5-94381-123-0}}</ref>

=== 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., 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=The New York Times| date = May 1, 2009| title = David H. Souter Letter to President Obama, May&nbsp;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]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sonia Sotomayor: Obama's Supreme Court Replacement for Ginsburg? |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/75-most-influential/obama-supreme-court-pick-1008 |work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |date=February 6, 2009 |access-date=May 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415235838/http://www.esquire.com/features/75-most-influential/obama-supreme-court-pick-1008 |archive-date=April 15, 2009}}</ref> She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 6.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 105th Congress – 2nd Session |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=105&session=2&vote=00295 |publisher=[[United States Senate]] |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-date=December 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210060851/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=105&session=2&vote=00295 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 29, 2009, the last day of the Court's 2008–2009 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 remained a judge and was entitled to sit [[Visiting judge|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.<ref name="2010report">{{cite web
| title        = First Circuit 2010 Annual Report
| url          = http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/oce/2010AnnualReport.pdf
| publisher    = Circuit Executive, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
| author       = Wente, Gary H.
| date         = September 7, 2012
| access-date  = December 28, 2012
| page         = 8
| quote        = In January, February, March, and May 2010, retired United States Supreme Court Justice David Souter sat with the court.
| editor       = Pagano, Florence
| editor2      = Dumas, Michelle
| editor3      = McQuillan, Kelly
| archive-date = December 24, 2016
| 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>

Souter maintained a low public profile after retiring from the Supreme Court. In one exception, 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 never married, though he was once engaged.<ref name="npr_20090430"/> He was an [[Anglicanism|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=October 22, 2023 |language=en |date=July 26, 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>

In 2004, Souter was [[mugged]] while jogging between his home and the [[Fort Lesley J. McNair]] Army Base in Washington, D.C.. 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|newspaper=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> News of the attack led to public scrutiny of the [[Supreme Court of the United States Police Department|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 had a decidedly low-tech lifestyle: He wrote with a [[fountain pen]], did not use email, and had no cellphone or answering machine. While serving on the Supreme Court, he preferred to drive to New Hampshire for the summer, where he enjoyed [[mountain climbing]].<ref name="biography" /> Souter also performed 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 was known for his daily lunch of an apple and unflavored yogurt.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2009/05/07/following-souter|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 that "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|newspaper=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-story house in nearby [[Hopkinton, New Hampshire]], a town in [[Merrimack County, New Hampshire|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 owned 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 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 was an 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>

=== Death ===
Souter died in his home on May 8, 2025, aged 85.<ref name=NYTobit/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fritze |first=John |date=May 9, 2025 |title=Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter dies at 85 {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/politics/souter-supreme-court-dies |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] said after his death, "Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service. After retiring to his beloved New Hampshire in 2009, he continued to render significant service to our branch by sitting regularly on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than a decade. He will be greatly missed."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Releases - pr_05-09-25 - Supreme Court of the United States |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-09-25 |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=supremecourt.gov}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Div col}}
* [[George H. W. Bush Supreme Court candidates]]
* [[Ideological leanings of United States Supreme Court justices]]
* [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
* [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 3)]]
* [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by court composition]]
* [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by seat]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Rehnquist Court]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Roberts Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Roberts Court]]
* [[Lost Liberty Hotel]]
* [[List of United States federal judges by longevity of service]]
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Abraham, Henry J., ''Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court.'' 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). {{ISBN|0-19-506557-3}}.
* Cushman, Clare, ''The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995.'' 2nd ed. (Supreme Court Historical Society; Congressional Quarterly Books, 2001). {{ISBN|978-1-56802-126-3}}.
* Frank, John P., ''The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions'' (Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, editors). (Chelsea House Publishers, 1995). {{ISBN|978-0-7910-1377-9}}.
* Hall, Kermit L., ed. ''The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States.'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). {{ISBN|978-0-19-505835-2}}.
* Martin, Fenton S., and Goehlert, Robert U., ''The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography.'' (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1990). {{ISBN|0-87187-554-3}}.
* Urofsky, Melvin I., ''The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary.'' (New York: Garland Publishing 1994). {{ISBN|978-0-8153-1176-8}}.

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
*{{IMDb name| 1197505}}
* {{FJC Bio|2244|nid=1388096|name=David Hackett Souter<!--(1939–)-->}}
* {{Ballotpedia|David_Souter}}
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/David_Souter.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]]
* {{C-SPAN|15083}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090804004404/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=21755 Online Symposium: Justice Souter and the First Amendment], [[First Amendment Center]], July 23, 2009
* [https://www.scribd.com/doc/33745569 The Selling of Judge David Souter to Movement Conservatives]
* [https://archive.today/20110717140317/http://www.hlrecord.org/news/souter-looks-beyond-supreme-court-1.625945 David Souter discusses his post-Supreme Court future] in the ''[[Harvard Law Record]]'', October 2, 2009
* [http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/05/text-of-justice-david-souters-speech/ Justice David Souter's Harvard Commencement Remarks], ''Harvard Gazette'', May 27, 2010
* [http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=GPO&browsePath=Supreme+Court+Nomination+Hearings%2FSouter&isCollapsed=false&leafLevelBrowse=false&isDocumentResults=true&ycord=463 Supreme Court Associate Justice Nomination Hearings on David Hackett Souter in September 1990] United States Government Publishing Office

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]|years=1990–2009}}
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{{SCOTUS justices}}
{{David Souter opinions}}

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