David Souter

David H. Souter Position:
Associate Justice

Judicial Offices:
Souter served as an Associate Justice for the New Hampshire Superior Court (1978-83), Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court (1983-90), and a Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 1990. Souter was nominated by George Bush on July 15, 1990 to become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme court; the Senate confirmed the appointment by a 90-9 vote on October 2, 1990. He was sworn in on October 9, 1990.

Family:
David Hackett Souter was born on September 17, 1939 in Melrose, Massachusetts to Joseph Alexander and Helen Adams Hackett Souter. His "home" where he spent many summers with his maternal grandparents is in Weare, New Hampshire.

Education:
Souter attended a local public school where he excelled and later attended Concord High School, where his classmates voted him, upon graduation, the "most sophisticated" and "most likely to succeed." He continued his studies at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude with an A.B. 1961 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and spent the next two years to earn another bachelors and masters degree at Magdalen College, Oxford, 1963, receiving an A.B. and Masters in Jurisprudence in 1989. At Harvard Law School, he received his LL.B. in 1966.

Law Practice:
Following graduation from Harvard Law School, Souter accepted a position as Associate at Orr and Reno in Concord, NH (1966-68). He later became Judge of the New Hampshire Superior Court in 1978 and an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1983 to 1990.

Government Service:
Souter served as Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire from 1968-1971, Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire from 1971-1976 and Attorney General of the State of New Hampshire, 1976-1978.

Other Assignments:
Other responsibilities Souter held were with the Maine-New Hampshire Interstate Boundary Commission from (1971-75), the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council (1976-78), New Hampshire Governor's Commission on Crime and Delinquency (1976-78 & 1979-83) and the New Hampshire Judicial Council from 1976 to 1978.

Civic Activities:
Souter was the Trustee from 1972-1985 and later the President from 1978-1984 of the Concord Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire and the Trustee for the New Hampshire Historical Society in the years between 1976 and 1985. He was also Vice President (1970-85) and later also an Overseer (1981-87) of Dartmouth Medical School.

Affiliations with Professional Organizations and Academic Institutions:
Souter was a member of the Merrimack County Bar Association; New Hampshire Bar Association and American Bar Association; an Honorary Fellow of the American Bar Foundation; involved in the National Association of Attorneys General; an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an Honorary Master of the Bench, Gray's Inn, London, an Honorary Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford and an Associate for the Lowell House at Harvard College.

More Biographical Information:

• An Intellectual Mind: David H. Souter From the New York Times. (Registration Required)
• Changed Path for Court? New Balance Is Held By 3 Cautious Justices From the New York Times. (Registration Required)
• David H. Souter From the Oyez Project (Northwestern University).
• David H. Souter From the Supreme Court History Society.
• Judges of the United States Courts From the Federal Judicial Center.
• Justice Souter From the Legal Information Institute (Cornell University).
• The Justices of the Supreme Court From the U.S. Supreme Court. In Adobe PDF format.