{"id":16928,"date":"2025-10-13T13:36:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=16928"},"modified":"2025-10-13T13:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:36:34","slug":"former-supreme-court-justice-david-souter-dies-at-85-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=16928","title":{"rendered":"Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies At 85"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container fullwidth-featured-area-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"featured-area\">\n<div class=\"featured-area-inner\">\n<figure class=\"single-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/conservativebrief.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Supreme-Court-4.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/conservativebrief.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Supreme-Court-4.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/conservativebrief.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Supreme-Court-4-300x159.jpg 300w, https:\/\/conservativebrief.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Supreme-Court-4-1024x544.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/conservativebrief.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Supreme-Court-4-768x408.jpg 768w, https:\/\/conservativebrief.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Supreme-Court-4-1536x816.jpg 1536w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"850\" data-main-img=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"single-caption-text\">\u00a0Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"site-content container\">\n<div id=\"main-content-row\" class=\"tie-row main-content-row\">\n<div class=\"main-content tie-col-md-8 tie-col-xs-12\" role=\"main\">\n<article id=\"the-post\" class=\"container-wrapper post-content tie-standard\">\n<div class=\"entry-content entry clearfix\">\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>This article may contain commentary<br \/>\nwhich reflects the author&#8217;s opinion.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ns-buttons ns-inline large ns-no-print\">\n<div class=\"ns-buttons-wrapper ns-align-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican appointee who resigned in 2009 after routinely siding with the court\u2019s liberal side, died on Friday, the court confirmed. He was 85 years old.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\">\n<div id=\"e1c09a52-67a1-44a3-a58e-fc2bf67380c6\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Souter, a low-key New Englander who avoided the national spotlight, was dubbed the \u201cstealth nominee\u201d when President George H.W. Bush nominated him in 1990 to succeed liberal icon William Brennan. Advisers persuaded the president that Souter would pull the court to the right, a misinterpretation that still resonates today.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court stated that Souter died on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJustice David Souter served our court with great distinction for nearly twenty years,\u201d Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. \u201cHe brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<p>Those who knew Souter said his approach to the law was measured, intellectual, and consistent with the concept of judicial restraint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole point of it was that it was a Constitution and a Bill of Rights for the indefinite future,\u201d Souter said during a 2012 event. \u201cThe application of these values, the problem of trying to make them work in practice, was an assignment that was left to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-7\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<div id=\"as5808\" data-title=\"You Might Also Like\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1920833346948452519&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fconservativebrief.com%2Fsupreme-court-dies-91410%2F&amp;sessionId=fad9d0b45cd4cb337d0c62ff5a81a4173e31ddf7&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1920833346948452519\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives quickly came to regret Souter\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-10\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<p>After less than two years on the court, he contributed to an important ruling that reaffirmed the core principle of Roe v. Wade, namely that the right to abortion was implicitly protected by the Constitution. He would later agree with the court\u2019s liberal bulk in decisions involving civil rights, affirmative action, and voting.<\/p>\n<p>His term sparked a rallying cry on the right \u2013 \u201cNo More Souters\u201d \u2013 and resulted in more severe ideological vetting of nominees. Subsequent nominees from both parties, including today\u2019s justices, are less likely to disagree with the party that appointed them.<\/p>\n<p>In 1995, Souter issued a widely publicized unanimous First Amendment judgment allowing organizers of a St. Patrick\u2019s Day parade in Boston to deny a spot to an LGBTQ group. A decade later, he argued for a 5-4 decision declaring that three counties in Kentucky violated the Frist Amendment by displaying framed reproductions of the Ten Commandments in courthouses and public schools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe divisiveness of religion in current public life is inescapable,\u201d Souter wrote. \u201cThis is no time to deny the prudence of understanding the establishment clause to require the government to stay neutral on religious belief, which is reserved for the conscience of the individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He frequently expressed his opinions modestly. In a 2009 concurrence in a case involving Navajo Nation mineral rights, Souter put down only two sentences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not through regretting that my position\u201d in an early case \u201cdid not carry the day,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBut it did not, and I agree that the precedent of that case calls for the result reached here.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-12\">\n<div data-delay=\"4000\" data-block=\"12\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In another departure from current conventions, Souter resigned after 19 years on the Supreme Court, intending to return to his quiet life in New Hampshire. Souter, who had never married and was never fond of the Washington social scene, retired at the age of 69, significantly younger than most leaving justices.<\/p>\n<p>His departure offered President Barack Obama, a Democrat, his first opportunity to choose a Supreme Court justice.<\/p>\n<p>Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor, a self-described \u201cfiery Latina,\u201d to replace the low-key New England native Souter. Sotomayor is now the senior member of the court\u2019s three-justice liberal faction.<\/p>\n<p>Souter, content to leave Washington\u2019s politics and agitation behind, spent his retirement in New Hampshire, frequently sitting on lesser courts to fill vacancies as needed.<\/p>\n<p>His desire for a peaceful existence was clear throughout his tenure on the Supreme Court, when he avoided technology and penned his judgments in longhand. When asked if there would ever be cameras in the courtroom, he famously said, \u201cOver my dead body.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Getty Images This article may contain commentary which reflects the author&#8217;s opinion. Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican appointee who resigned in 2009 after routinely siding with the &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16929,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928\/revisions\/16929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}