Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter dies at 85

Justice David Souter, who served connected the Supreme Court for astir 2 decades, died Thursday. Getty Images/Getty Images/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images/Getty Images/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Former Justice David Souter, who appointed to the Supreme Court by President George H. W. Bush successful 1990 but amazed Republicans by joining the court's much wide wing, has died, the tribunal announced Friday.

Souter, who retired successful 2009, died Thursday astatine his location successful New Hampshire, the tribunal said. He was 85.

"Justice David Souter served our Court with large favoritism for astir 20 years," Chief Justice John Roberts said successful the connection from the court. "He brought uncommon contented and kindness to a beingness of nationalist service."

At the clip of his status from the court, Souter was 69 and obscurity adjacent the oldest subordinate of the court. But helium has made wide to friends astatine the clip that helium wanted to permission Washington, a metropolis helium has ne'er liked, and instrumentality to his autochthonal New Hampshire.

Bush appointed Souter to the tribunal mostly connected the proposal of New Hampshire's erstwhile Gov. John Sununu, who had go the archetypal President Bush's main of staff. But Souter amazed Bush and different Republicans by joining the court's much wide wing.

He and the court's 3 liberals astatine the clip made up the bloc of 4 much wide members of the court; that fig connected the existent tribunal is three.

Souter was a postgraduate of some Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He besides attended Magdalen College astatine Oxford University successful England. But his world pedigree was lone 1 crushed helium had been regarded arsenic a reasoning man's jurist and a highly thoughtful blimpish anterior to his elevation to the nation's highest bench.

Once appointed and confirmed, helium soon became a "surprise justice." He bucked the anticipation that helium would articulation the court's blimpish helping — past led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who was appointed to the tribunal by President Nixon and elevated to main by President Reagan, and featuring Reagan appointees Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy.

The appointing president had been assured of Souter's credentials by the White House main of staff, John Sununu, who had known Souter arsenic a blimpish subordinate of the New Hampshire Supreme Court erstwhile Sununu was that state's Republican governor.

But erstwhile confronted by the ideological debates and partisan scenery of Washington, Souter amazed some Sununu and Bush by aligning himself with the court's much mean wing, which besides included Reagan appointee Sandra Day O'Connor.

Later on, Souter became a full-fledged subordinate of the court's unabashedly wide caucus, featuring yet different Republican, John Paul Stevens (appointed by President Ford successful 1975).

Souter was unconventional successful different ways beyond his ideological independence. He moved to Washington to be tribunal sessions, but helium returned to his beloved roots successful New Hampshire whenever possible, including for the court's agelong summertime hiatus each year.

Rather than alert home, Souter preferred to drive. He besides resisted different forms of modern exertion and convenience, holding retired against the compartment telephone and email and continuing to constitute his opinions and dissents successful longhand, utilizing a fountain pen.

Once engaged but ne'er married, Souter was erstwhile listed among the capital's 10 "most eligible bachelors" but remained successful that class of "confirmed bachelors."

He was ne'er a carnal of the superior city's societal scene, surviving successful a spartan flat successful the metropolis not acold from the Supreme Court offices connected Capitol Hill. Although helium served astir 2 decades connected the precocious court, helium made nary concealed of his penchant for the manner and gait of his autochthonal agrarian New Hampshire.