Souter, << SOO tuhr, >> David Hackett (1939-…), served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 to 2009. President George H. W. Bush appointed him to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. President Barack Obama nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as Souter’s successor, and she became the first Hispanic to serve on the court.
As a Supreme Court justice, Souter was known as a moderate. Many court observers had expected that Souter, who was appointed by a Republican president, would regularly side with his conservative colleagues. But he often voted with the liberal justices on issues facing the court.
Souter was born on Sept. 17, 1939, in Melrose, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1961 and spent two years at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. Rhodes scholarships enable top students from the United States and other nations to study at Oxford. In 1966, Souter graduated from Harvard Law School.
Souter was appointed attorney general of New Hampshire in 1976. In 1978, he was named associate justice of the state’s Superior Court. In 1983, Souter was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Bush named him to serve as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in April 1990. Souter held that post until he joined the U.S. Supreme Court in October 1990.
