Former Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter dead at 85

Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, the shy and frugal small-town New Englander who was touted arsenic a blimpish but amazed his Republican backers and astir everyone other by becoming a staunch wide connected the precocious court, has died, the tribunal said successful a connection Friday. He was 85.

Souter stepped down successful 2009 aft astir 2 decades connected the tribunal wherever helium formed cardinal votes to uphold laws connected run finance, biology protection, civilian rights and church-state separation. He besides played a important relation successful upholding a woman’s close to take abortion.

As an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, Souter was expected to articulation with then-Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and different conservatives who were determined to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 determination that expanded termination rights.

But erstwhile a Pennsylvania trial lawsuit came earlier the tribunal successful 1992, Souter alternatively joined mean Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy to affirm the close to abortion. Souter saw the contented arsenic a substance of precedent.

Repealing the law close to termination would beryllium “a surrender to governmental pressure,” helium wrote. “To overrule nether occurrence successful the lack of the astir compelling crushed to re-examine a watershed determination would subvert the Court’s legitimacy beyond immoderate superior question.”

A 2nd 5-4 determination that spring, with Souter successful the majority, upheld the strict prohibition connected school-sponsored prayers astatine graduations. The 5 justices who voted to uphold the termination close and the prohibition connected schoolhouse prayers were each Republican appointees.

But they nary longer reflected the views of a much socially blimpish GOP, and Souter was denounced by immoderate successful the enactment arsenic a turn-coat. By the precocious 1990s, “No much Souters” had go a rallying outcry for blimpish ineligible activists.

“Justice Souter was a judicial mentation of a disappearing phenomenon: the mean New England Republican,” said Pamela Karlan, a prof astatine Stanford Law School. “He was not a existent wide and would not person been a wide connected the tribunal of the 1960s and ‘70s. But helium believed successful privateness and civilian rights and precedents, and that made him a wide connected the tribunal of his day.”

He was antithetic successful different ways. Shortly aft helium arrived arsenic a caller justness successful 1990, helium was dubbed 1 of the city’s “most eligible bachelors” successful the Washington Post, starring to a bid of meal invitations. He usually recovered himself seated betwixt a azygous pistillate and a impermanent who spoke lone Japanese, helium aboriginal joked.

Souter became adept astatine turning down invitations. He would dine with Justice John Paul Stevens and his wife, oregon with Sandra Day O’Connor, but mostly helium worked and ate alone. He spent evenings jogging on the waterfront adjacent his tiny apartment.

Whenever the tribunal took an extended break, Souter drove to the farmhouse wherever helium grew up successful tiny Weare, N.H., truthful helium could hike.

He was successful bully wellness and not yet 70 erstwhile President Barack Obama moved into the White House successful aboriginal 2009. Soon after, Souter passed connection that helium intended to retire. Obama take Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the archetypal Latina connected the precocious court, to regenerate him.

Souter was dubbed a “stealth nominee” erstwhile helium arrived successful Washington successful 1990, and helium remained a enigma erstwhile helium left. He did nary interviews and made nary nationalist statements.

Back successful New Hampshire, helium continued to service part-time arsenic a retired justice connected the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals successful Boston, deciding low-profile cases retired of the nationalist spotlight.

Souter was not the archetypal justness to astonishment the president who appointed him, but helium whitethorn beryllium among the last. Since Souter’s clip — and indeed, partially successful absorption to him -- presidents person cautiously selected tribunal nominees with nationalist records showing they shared akin views connected ineligible issues.

Souter had heavy ties to the Republican Party. He carried a golden ticker that was a prized possession of a great-great-grandfather who attended the Republican enactment normal of 1860 that nominated Abraham Lincoln arsenic president.

The GOP supported biology conservation and the separation of religion and authorities erstwhile Souter was increasing up. But it grew progressively much blimpish implicit the decades, and Souter didn’t ever agree.

In July 1990, helium was a 50-year-old bachelor who lived unsocial successful a workplace location with peeling overgarment and books connected the floor. He had conscionable been named to the U.S. tribunal of appeals successful Boston. Until then, helium had spent his full vocation arsenic a prosecutor, authorities lawyer and justice successful New Hampshire.

His scholarly mode and devotion to the instrumentality had won him influential admirers, including then-Sen. Warren Rudman and erstwhile N.H. Gov. John Sununu, who was then-White House main of unit to the archetypal President Bush.

When the Supreme Court’s wide leader, William J. Brennan, suffered a changeable and announced his retirement, Souter’s sanction made the president’s abbreviated database of imaginable nominees.

Bush was anxious to debar a combat with Senate Democrats implicit termination and civilian rights. Republicans inactive smarted from the Senate’s decision successful 1987 of Judge Robert Bork, whose powerfully blimpish writings convinced critics helium was excessively utmost to beryllium confirmed.

Souter seemed an perfect nominee. He was conservative, oregon astatine slightest old-fashioned. He wrote with a fountain pen, not a computer. And helium ignored television. He lone learned Brennan was stepping down erstwhile a postal clerk successful his municipality shared the news.

Two days later, Souter stood successful the White House property country arsenic Bush announced his nomination. Souter was said to person nary “paper trail,” but Sununu privately assured activists that helium would beryllium a “home tally for conservatives.”

Liberal Democrats, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, were Souter’s sharpest critics that summer, portion the arch-conservative Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina led the combat to corroborate him. In little than 2 years, it became wide that some sides had miscalculated.

By the mid-1990s, Souter had allied himself with Justice Stevens, different mean Republican who besides seemed to determination left, and with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer, the 2 appointees of President Bill Clinton. They formed a wide bloc successful cases wherever the tribunal divided on ideological lines.

David Hackett Souter was calved successful Melrose, Mass., connected Sept. 17, 1939, the lone kid of Joseph and Helen Souter. His begetter was a banker and his parent a acquisition store clerk. When helium was 11, the household moved to the New Hampshire workplace location successful Weare that remained Souter’s superior location until aft his retirement.

As a Harvard undergraduate, Souter dated a young pistillate and spoke of marrying her. But erstwhile helium won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and went to England to survey astatine Oxford University, she recovered idiosyncratic else.

Souter told friends helium was disappointed helium ne'er married. After graduating from Harvard Law School successful 1966, helium eschewed the big-city instrumentality firms and returned to the small-town beingness and rugged mountains of the New Hampshire helium loved.

Friends and erstwhile clerks accidental Souter was ne'er a existent blimpish arsenic his aboriginal backers said, nor was helium a coagulated wide arsenic helium was portrayed years later.

Souter was “a judge’s judge,” said Penn Law Professor Kermit Roosevelt, who clerked for him successful 1999. “He didn’t person a governmental agenda. People had a mistaken thought of what they were getting erstwhile helium was appointed.”