David Souter
Actor
David Hackett Souter (ˈsuːtər; born September 17, 1939) is a retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from October 1990 until his retirement in June 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J. Brennan Jr., Souter sat on both the Rehnquist and Roberts Courts. Souter grew up in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and 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). He was nominated for 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 center and eventually came to vote reliably with the Court's liberal wing. Following the election of Barack Obama, a Democratic President, Souter was more inclined to leave the Court and return to New Hampshire. He announced his retirement in mid-2009 and was succeeded by Sonia Sotomayor. Souter continues to hear cases by designation at the circuit court level.
David Hackett Souter (ˈsuːtər; born September 17, 1939) is a retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from October 1990 until his retirement in June 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J. Brennan Jr., Souter sat on both the Rehnquist and Roberts Courts.
Souter grew up in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and 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).
He was nominated for 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 center and eventually came to vote reliably with the Court's liberal wing.
Following the election of Barack Obama, a Democratic President, Souter was more inclined to leave the Court and return to New Hampshire. He announced his retirement in mid-2009 and was succeeded by Sonia Sotomayor. Souter continues to hear cases by designation at the circuit court level.