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Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies at 85 in New Hampshire

142 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Updated May 9, 2025, 06:49 PM

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter died Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement released Friday. He was 85. The announcement described his passing as peaceful and did not specify a cause of death. Souter was appointed to the high court in 1990 by Republican President George H. W. Bush and served for nearly two decades before retiring in 2009. Expected at the time to bolster the court’s conservative bloc, he instead emerged as a dependable vote with its liberal wing, shaping decisions on abortion rights, church-state separation and freedom of expression. Among his most influential opinions was the 1992 plurality in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, co-written with Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy, which reaffirmed the core holding of Roe v. Wade. After stepping down, the ascetic New Hampshire native largely avoided public life, preferring the quiet of his home state to Washington’s spotlight. His death leaves a legacy of judicial independence and moderation that cut across the court’s ideological divides.

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Former Justice David Souter’s career stands as a model of judicial strength and resilience tempered by modesty and restraint, @NoahRFeldman says https://t.co/J4F9tPjKSP