David Souter

Whatever court we are in, whatever we are doing, whether we are in a trial court or an appellate court, at the end of our task some human being is going to be affected … so we had better use every power of our minds and our hearts and our beings to get those rulings right.

David Hackett Souter (September 17, 1939 – May 8, 2025) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from October 1990 until his retirement in June 2009. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J. Brennan, Jr..

Quotes

• Whatever court we are in, whatever we are doing, whether we are in a trial court or an appellate court, at the end of our task some human being is going to be affected. Some human life is going to be changed in some way by what we do, whether we do it as trial judges or whether we do it as appellate judges, as far removed from the trial arena as it is possible to be. And so we had better use every power of our minds and our hearts and our beings to get those rulings right.
  • Statement to the Judiciary Committee of the US Senate (13 September 1990)

• "Democracy works "only if the people have faith in those who govern, and that faith is bound to be shattered when high officials and their appointees engage in activities which arouse suspicions of malfeasance and corruption." United States v. Mississippi Valley Generating Co., 364 U. S. 520, 562 (1961)
  • David Souter, Opinion of the Court, Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 U.S. 377 (2000)

• What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough – as they might do, for example, another serious terrorist attack, as they might do with another financial meltdown – some one person will come forward and say, "Give me total power, and I will solve this problem." That is how the Roman republic fell….That is how democracy dies. And if something is not done to improve the level of civic knowledge, that is what you should worry about at night.
  • With Margaret Warner at ‘Constitutionally Speaking’ in Concord, N.H. on Sept. 14, 2012: David Souter Gets Rock Star Welcome, Offers Constitution Day Warning | PBS NewsHour

• I think the case is so strong that I can tell you the day you see a camera come into our courtroom, it's going to roll over my dead body.
  • On Cameras in Supreme Court, Souter Says, 'Over My Dead Body', The New York Times, March 30, 1996

Quotes about Souter

• 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. . . . He will be greatly missed.
  • John Roberts, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, in a statement issued the day after Souter's death. (May 9, 2025)