Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican who became a liberal darling, has died

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, the ascetic bachelor and New Hampshire Republican who became a darling of liberals during his astir 20 years connected the bench, has died. He was 85.

Souter died Thursday astatine his location successful New Hampshire, the court said successful a connection Friday.

He retired from the tribunal successful June 2009, giving President Barack Obama his archetypal Supreme Court vacancy to fill. Obama, a Democrat, chose Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s archetypal Latina justice.

Souter was appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush successful 1990. He was a reliably wide ballot connected abortion, church-state relations, state of look and the accessibility of national courts. Souter besides dissented from the determination successful Bush v. Gore successful 2000, which efficaciously handed the presidency to George W. Bush, the lad of the antheral who enactment him connected the precocious court.

In retirement, Souter warned that ignorance of however authorities works could undermine American democracy.

"What I interest astir is that erstwhile problems are not addressed, radical volition not cognize who is responsible. And erstwhile the problems get atrocious capable ... immoderate 1 idiosyncratic volition travel guardant and say, ‘Give maine full powerfulness and I volition lick this problem.’ That is however the Roman republic fell,” Souter said successful a 2012 interview.

His manner was spare — yogurt and an apple, consumed astatine his desk, was a emblematic luncheon — and helium shunned Washington’s societal scene. He couldn’t hold to permission municipality successful aboriginal summer. As soon arsenic the tribunal finished its enactment successful precocious June, helium climbed into his Volkswagen Jetta for the thrust backmost to the worn farmhouse wherever his household moved erstwhile helium was 11.

Yet for each his reserve, Souter was beloved by colleagues, tribunal employees and friends. He was a noted storyteller and generous with his time.

“Justice David Souter served our Court with large favoritism for astir 20 years. He brought uncommon contented and kindness to a beingness of nationalist service," Chief Justice John Roberts said. Souter continued proceeding cases connected the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for much than a decennary aft helium near the precocious court, Roberts said.

When Bush plucked Souter from obscurity successful 1990, wide involvement groups feared helium would beryllium the ballot that would undo the court’s Roe v. Wade ruling successful favour of termination rights. He was called a stealth nominee by some.

Bush White House adjutant John Sununu, the erstwhile blimpish politician of New Hampshire, hailed his prime arsenic a “home run.” And aboriginal successful his clip successful Washington, Souter was called a mean conservative.

But helium soon joined successful a ruling reaffirming woman’s close to an abortion, a determination from 1992 that is his astir noted enactment connected the court. Thirty years later, a much blimpish tribunal overturned that decision and the law close to abortion.

Souter asked precise questions during statement sessions, sometimes with a fierceness that belied his low-key manner. “He had an unerring knack of uncovering the weakest nexus successful your argument,” seasoned Supreme Court advocator Carter Phillips said.

Souter was history’s 105th Supreme Court justness and lone its sixth bachelor.

Although hailed by The Washington Post arsenic the superior city’s astir prominently eligible azygous antheral erstwhile helium moved from New Hampshire, Souter resolutely resisted the societal whirl.

“I wasn’t that benignant of idiosyncratic earlier I moved to Washington, and, astatine this age, I don’t spot immoderate crushed to change,” the intensely backstage Souter told an acquaintance.

He worked 7 days a week done astir of the court’s word from October to aboriginal summer, staying astatine his Supreme Court bureau for much than 12 hours a day. He said helium underwent an yearly “intellectual lobotomy” astatine the commencement of each word due to the fact that helium had truthful small clip to work for pleasure.

Souter rented an flat a fewer miles from the tribunal and jogged unsocial astatine Fort McNair, an Army installation adjacent his flat building. He was erstwhile mugged portion connected a run, an seemingly random act.

Souter returned to his well-worn location successful Weare, New Hampshire, for a fewer months each summertime and was fixed the usage of an bureau successful a Concord courthouse.

An avid hiker, Souter spent overmuch of his clip distant from enactment trekking done the New Hampshire mountains.

When Souter successful 2005 joined an unpopular 5-4 determination connected eminent domain allowing a Connecticut metropolis to instrumentality respective waterfront homes for a backstage development, a radical angered by the determination tried to usage it to evict him from his Weare farmhouse to marque mode for the “Lost Liberty Hotel.” But Weare residents rejected the proposal.

Shortly aft his retirement, Souter bought a 3,500-square-foot Cape Cod-style location successful Hopkinton, New Hampshire. It was reported, though possibly it was conscionable portion of Souter’s lore, that helium disquieted that the instauration of the location successful Weare would springiness mode nether the value of each the books helium owned.

Souter had been a national appellate justice for conscionable implicit 4 months erstwhile picked for the precocious court. He had heard but 1 lawsuit arsenic a national judge, and arsenic a authorities justice antecedently had small accidental to regularisation connected law issues.

Though liberals were initially wary of his appointment, it was governmental conservatives who felt betrayed erstwhile successful 2 1992 rulings Souter helped forge a moderate-liberal conjugation that reaffirmed the law close of termination and the court’s longtime prohibition connected officially sponsored prayers successful nationalist schools.

Yet arsenic Souter biographer Tinsley Yarbrough noted, the justness did not instrumentality “extreme positions.”

Indeed, successful June 2008, Souter sided with Exxon Mobil Corp. and broke with his wide colleagues successful slashing the punitive damages the institution owed Alaskan victims of the Exxon Valdez lipid spill.

Before serving arsenic a New Hampshire judge, Souter was his state’s lawyer wide for 2 years. He worked connected the lawyer general’s unit the 8 erstwhile years, aft a little stint successful backstage practice.

Souter earned his undergraduate and instrumentality degrees from Harvard University, and a master’s grade from Oxford arsenic a Rhodes student Washington, D.C.

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Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed to this study from Concord, New Hampshire.