#david souter

LOL when I was renting a bedroom from a friend she said if I bought any more books she’d have to reinforce the beams or the floor would collapse and everything would fall into the dining room below.

Souter, known for his simple tastes and love of New Hampshire, became a reliable liberal vote in his 19 years on the court.

May 9, 2025, 6:17 AM MST / Updated May 9, 2025, 11:29 AM MST

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a lifelong bachelor who was renowned for his love of a simple life in New Hampshire and dislike of Washington, died at home on Thursday at the age of 85, the court said in a statement.

Now George HW Bush was NOT Donald Trump. He wasn't even Henry II. But he did appoint justices of the most conservative bent, with little regard for decency -- just look at another pick, Clarence Thomas.

Souter had been a Republican. He towed the correct line of "my decision on an issue would depend on the case before me" that is the ONLY right answer for a potential Justice to give. But there was every reason to believe he'd give the conservatives a firmer grip on the Court, leading to rulings evangelicals and corporations heavily wanted.

He did not. From the time of his appointment he became an absolute champion for the broad interpretation of the Constitution to protect more human beings and more human rights, to regulate corporate behavior, and to deny any religious influence. He was one of the most loyal liberal voices on the Court. He ruled according to his conscience and understanding of the law, and nothing else.

Thomas Becket is probably a less known example but similar. He was Henry II's Chancellor and close friend. As Chancellor he had done everything he could to give Henry everything he wanted, and joined him in his indulgences. Henry, therefore, believed him to be the perfect man to help him seize authority over the Church and named him Archbishop of Canterbury.

Except he too resisted. For whatever reasons, Becket took his new position seriously, striving for piety and faith, taking on protecting the authority of the Chirch as a sacred duty. He was so devoted to this, contrary to Henry's wishes or intent, that Becket had to flee to France. Upon his return, he continued his work including excommunicating three clergymen who were in Henry's corner. He opposed Henry's attempts to seize total control by seizing the authority of the Church as well as holding the monarchy so much that 4 knights attempted to "arrest" him in the church in front of congregants, ending in his death when he refused their claims of authority while on church grounds.

He stood for his conscience -- regardless of the sins of the Church at the time, it hardly would have been better to give that authority to the monarch, when the only checks and balances under a strong monarch was in fact the Church -- despite all evidence of years that he would be Henry's loyal man all the way.

I keep looking for any sign that we may see that in the Republican party today. I know that sentiment will be met with derision at my being hopelessly naive at best. (And I am fully aware that it will not be coming from Trump.)

But the thought of where either Souter or Becket would stand would have been seen the same way at the moments they were placed in their positions.

I don't see it. I don't even have an inkling of it. I can't imagine Matt Gaetz will find a conscience or RFK Jr will suddenly learn to understand science.

Richard Luscombe at The Guardian:

Retired supreme court Justice David H Souter, the ascetic bachelor and New Hampshire Republican who became a darling of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, has died. He was 85. Souter died on Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement Friday. John Roberts, the chief justice, said Souter, who retired from the court in 2009, “brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service”. Souter’s retirement gave Barack Obama his first supreme court vacancy to fill. Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Latina justice. Souter was appointed by George HW Bush in 1990, and quickly dashed the expectations of the conservative right that had cheered his elevation. He was a reliably liberal vote on abortion, church-state relations, freedom of expression and the accessibility of federal courts. In 1992, he joined Justices Anthony M Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor, also appointed by Republican presidents, in a three-member affirmation of women’s federally protected right to abortion.

Reversing the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, Souter wrote, would be a “surrender to political pressure. To overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the court’s legitimacy beyond any serious question.” A subsequent conservative supreme court majority, including three Donald Trump picks, overturned Roe v Wade in 2022. Souter was the 105th supreme court justice, and only its sixth bachelor. In retirement, Souter warned that ignorance of how government works could undermine American democracy, words that appear almost prescient today following Trump’s accession to the White House and attacks on the judicial system.

“What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough … some one person will come forward and say: ‘Give me total power and I will solve this problem.’ That is how the Roman republic fell,” Souter said in a 2012 interview. His lifestyle was simple and frugal. His lunch, eaten at his desk, was typically a yogurt and apple. He distanced himself from Washington DC’s social scene, and every June, as soon as supreme court work was finished, he drove his Volkswagen Jetta back to the aged farmhouse in Weare, New Hampshire, where his family moved when he was 11.

[...] When Bush plucked Souter from obscurity in 1990, liberal interest groups feared he would be the pivotal vote that would undo Roe v Wade, with some observers calling him a stealth nominee, and the White House aide John Sununu, the former conservative governor of New Hampshire, calling the choice a “home run”. Souter’s conservatism, however, was moderate, and hardliners were dismayed by his 1992 Roe v Wade affirmation. According to the Washington Post, conservatives who were disappointed in his performance looked at subsequent supreme court vacancies with an attitude of “no more Souters”. He asked precise questions during argument sessions, sometimes with a fierceness that belied his low-key manner. “He had an unerring knack of finding the weakest link in your argument,” the veteran supreme court advocate Carter Phillips said. Although he became to be seen as a liberal justice, some of Souter’s rulings were not. In 2008 he sided with Exxon Mobil Corp in slashing the punitive damages the company owed Alaskan victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Former SCOTUS Justice David Souter died at 85. Souter was appointed by the late George H.W. Bush and retired in 2009 under Barack Obama.

He was initially seen as a conservative; however, he quickly became a left-leaning moderate justice. Souter’s shift infuriated the conservative legal establishment, and thus made them more cognizant of assuring future nominees that they have strong conservative bona fides.

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Past Justices as with past Presidents have never commented on current administrations — until Trump! 👎 #KavaNOPE

Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday that he does not support the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Stevens was nominated by Republican President Gerald Ford in 1975. He went on to become the most liberal member of a minority bloc on the Supreme Court. He retired in 2010 and was replaced by Justice Elena Kagan.

Kavanaugh “had the qualifications” to be a Supreme Court justice but his behavior at a hearing last week ― where he defended himself against allegations of sexual assault by blaming Democrats seeking “revenge on behalf of the Clintons” ― was inappropriate and disqualifying, Stevens said.”

I feel his performance in the hearings ultimately changed my mind.” Stevens said, the Palm Beach Post first reported. 

Commentators, Stevens said, have argued that Kavanaugh’s blistering testimony during a Sept. 27 hearing on sexual misconduct allegations demonstrated a potential for political bias should he serve on the Supreme Court.

“I think there’s merit to that criticism and I think the senators should really pay attention that”

Stevens also noted on Thursday that the partisan political influence over the high court was “worse” than ever.