David Hackett Souter, a former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, died on May 8, 2025, at the age of 85. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush, Souter served on the nation’s highest court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009.
Born on September 17, 1939, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Souter was raised in New Hampshire, where he would spend much of his life. He graduated from Harvard College in 1961, studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1966.
Souter began his legal career in the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, later serving as the state’s attorney general from 1976 to 1978. He then joined the judiciary, serving on the New Hampshire Superior Court, the state Supreme Court, and finally the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He was appointed to the First Circuit by President Bush in 1990, just months before being nominated to the Supreme Court.
Expected by some to be a reliably conservative voice, Souter proved to be an independent thinker on the bench. He became a key swing vote in several landmark cases, most notably Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), where he joined the plurality that reaffirmed the core holding of Roe v. Wade. He also voted with the majority in Bush v. Gore (2000), though he later reportedly had misgivings about the decision.
Souter was known for his preference for judicial restraint and his resistance to ideological labels. He consistently supported a strict separation of church and state and maintained a cautious approach to constitutional interpretation.
After retiring from the Court in 2009, Souter returned to New Hampshire, where he remained active in civic life. He continued to hear cases by designation on the First Circuit Court of Appeals until 2020.
Never married and intensely private, Souter lived a modest life, often eschewing the public spotlight. His intellectual rigor, independence, and commitment to the rule of law left a lasting impression on the Court and the country.
He is survived by extended family members and a legacy of jurisprudence that reflected a deep respect for both precedent and the Constitution.
Several members of the Supreme Court, both presently and in the past, discussed Souter’s passing.
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