The former US Supreme Court Justice David Souter had died at age 85.
A Bookish and reclusive jurist who joined the U.S. Supreme Court as a supposed conservative stealth nominee but instead emerged as a liberal justice who backed abortion rights and dissented in the 2000 ruling that gave the presidency to Republican George W. Bush had died.
Souter, who served 19 years on the court before retiring in 2009, died peacefully at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement on Friday.
Chief Justice John Roberts said in the statement that “Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service, and He will be greatly missed.”
When liberal stalwart William Brennan suddenly retired from the nation’s top judicial body in 1990, Republican President George H.W. Bush chose Souter, then an obscure federal judge from New Hampshire with almost nothing known about his views on major issues.
Bush, in selecting Souter, said he was familiar with his nominee’s general views but did not apply the litmus test approach on abortion or other issues. White House officials at the time assured conservative Republicans that Souter would be a home run when it came to his legal views.
During his Senate confirmation hearings, the Harvard Law School graduate who had served as New Hampshire’s attorney general and a state court judge was dubbed the stealth nominee, with U.S. liberals fearful and abortion rights groups announcing their opposition.
But Souter instead became a favorite of American liberals and a source of immense disappointment to conservatives. He supported abortion rights in a 1992 ruling that reaffirmed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized the procedure nationwide, as well as backing affirmative action programs to help minorities overcome past discrimination and campaign-finance restrictions aimed at combating political corruption.
Souter joined three liberal justices in dissent in the 5-4 Bush v. Gore ruling that ended a recount of ballots in Florida and effectively declared Republican George W. Bush, the son of the president who appointed him, the winner of the 2000 U.S. presidential election over Democrat Al Gore.
“There is no justification for denying the state the opportunity to try to count all disputed ballots now,” Souter wrote in dissent.
Souter announced his retirement at age 69, just months after George W. Bush left office,denying the son of the man who appointed him the chance to replace him and giving that opportunity to Barack Obama, a Democratic president.
