Souter, David Hackett

Souter, David Hackett

▪ United States jurist
born September 17, 1939, Melrose, Massachusetts, U.S.

      associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (Supreme Court of the United States) from 1990.

      Souter's father was a bank manager and his mother a store clerk. He spent his early childhood in a Boston suburb before his family moved to rural East Weare, New Hampshire, in 1950. He attended Harvard University, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1961. He then spent two years at Magdalen College, Oxford, on a Rhodes scholarship. Upon his return to the United States in 1963, he entered Harvard Law School, receiving his law degree in 1966.

      After graduation, Souter spent two years in private practice in Concord, New Hampshire, before joining the state attorney general's office. Appointed state attorney general in 1976, he was a frequent defender of the ultraconservative policies of Governor Meldrim Thomson, Jr. Two years later, Thomson appointed Souter associate justice of New Hampshire's Superior Court, where he served for four years. In 1983 Governor John Sununu appointed him to the state Supreme Court. As a judge, Souter was considered tough on crime, favouring prosecutors and resisting reversals of criminal convictions.

      In February 1990 President George Bush (Bush, George) nominated Souter to the U.S. Court of Appeals (United States Court of Appeals) for the First Circuit in Boston. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May, Souter was nominated by Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court in July—before he had issued his first decision as a federal judge. In October he was easily confirmed (90–9). During the hearings, abortion-rights supporters unsuccessfully attempted to coax Souter to divulge his judicial position on abortion; indeed, his decision not to answer such questions was the central reason cited by those who voted against his confirmation.

      Souter's judicial record in New Hampshire indicated that he would be ideologically compatible with the conservative justices appointed by Bush's predecessor, President Ronald Reagan (Reagan, Ronald W.). During his early tenure on the court, however, Souter gradually emerged as a moderate liberal, routinely aligning himself with more liberal members of the court such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Ginsburg, Ruth Bader) and John Paul Stevens (Stevens, John Paul). His gravitation to the left began with his role in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey) v. Casey (1992). Although Souter was expected to support William Rehnquist (Rehnquist, William) and Antonin Scalia (Scalia, Antonin) in their effort to use the case to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973), the ruling that established the legal right to abortion, instead he joined with conservative justices Anthony Kennedy (Kennedy, Anthony) and Sandra Day O'Connor (O'Connor, Sandra Day) in devising a new “undue burden” standard for determining the constitutionality of laws intended to limit abortion, the effect of which was to restrict abortion rights but not to eliminate them.

      Souter also adopted left-of-centre positions in cases involving school desegregation and race-conscious electoral districting, arguing in a powerful dissent in 1995 that lower courts must be granted the latitude to correct problems emanating from constitutional violations created by public officials. In 1996 he opposed the court's decision to strike down congressional districting plans in North Carolina and Texas that were aimed at ensuring African American representation in the U.S. Congress, maintaining that in each case no harm would be—or had been—done to the white voters of the state.

      By the late 1990s, Souter was recognized for his intellectual leadership among the court's moderate members and for his skill at building consensus.

Brian P. Smentkowski
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Souter,David Hackett — Sou·ter (so͞oʹtər), David Hackett. Born 1939. American jurist who was appointed an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990. * * * …   Universalium

  • David Hackett Souter — David Souter David Hackett Souter (* 17. September 1939 in Melrose, Middlesex County, Massachusetts) ist ein US amerikanischer Jurist und seit dem Jahr 1990 Richter am Obersten Gerichtshof der Vereinigten Staaten (Supreme Court). Er gilt, obwohl… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David H. Souter — David Souter David Hackett Souter (* 17. September 1939 in Melrose, Middlesex County, Massachusetts) ist ein US amerikanischer Jurist und seit dem Jahr 1990 Richter am Obersten Gerichtshof der Vereinigten Staaten (Supreme Court). Er gilt, obwohl… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Souter — David Hackett Souter (* 17. September 1939 in Melrose, Middlesex County, Massachusetts) ist ein US amerikanischer Jurist. Er war von 1990 bis 2009 Richter am Obersten Gerichtshof der Vereinigten Staaten (Supreme Court). Seine Nachfolgerin ist… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Souter — For other people named David Souter, see David Souter (disambiguation). David Souter Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States In office October 9, 1990 – June 29, 2009 …   Wikipedia

  • David — /day vid/ for 1, 2, 5; Fr. /dann veed / for 3, 5; Sp. /dah veedh / for 4, 5, n. 1. died c970 B.C., the second king of Israel, reigned c1010 c970, successor to Saul: slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath. 2. Saint. Also called Dewi Sant. A.D.… …   Universalium

  • David Souter — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El Juez David Souter, circa 1990 David Hackett Sourter (nacido 17 de septiembre de 1939) es un jurista de los Estados Unidos. Desde 1990 ocupa la posición de Juez Asociado en la Corte Suprema de los Estado …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hackett (surname) — Hackett (alternately Hacket, Haket, Hackert, Halkett, Ó Haicéid etc.) is a surname of Norman origin, Hacket being a common Norman personal name. Most textbooks discussing the origin of English surnames theorize that the name Hackett originates in …   Wikipedia

  • David Henry Souter — Poster by Souter for World War I recruitment campaign for nurses. For the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice, see David Hackett Souter. David Henry Souter (30 March 1862 – 22 September 1935)[1] was an Australian artist and journalist. Souter was… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/So — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”