David Souter, a former U.S. Supreme Court Justice appointed by President George H.W. Bush, has died at the age of 85, the high court announced late Thursday. Souter passed away peacefully at his home in New Hampshire, ending a long life marked by public service and a deeply private personal nature.
Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1990, Souter was originally seen as a conservative pick by the elder Bush, but he surprised many by siding with the court’s liberal wing on key issues throughout his 20-year tenure. Despite conservative hopes that his appointment would shift the court rightward on critical social issues like abortion and immigration, Souter instead aligned himself with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and John Paul Stevens on many landmark cases.
Souter’s surprising ideological trajectory became clear in 1992 when he joined the majority in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a critical decision that upheld the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade. He also famously sided against the conservative majority in the contentious Bush v. Gore ruling that resolved the 2000 presidential election, warning that the decision would undermine public faith in the impartiality of the judiciary.
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