DAVID H. SOUTER (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, September 17, 1939. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1961, magna cum laude. He received a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Magdalen College, Oxford University, and received an M.A. in Jurisprudence in 1963. After receiving an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1966, he served as an associate at the law firm of Orr and Reno in Concord, New Hampshire. In 1968 he accepted a position as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1971, he became Deputy Attorney General and in 1976, Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1978, he was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, and was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire as an Associate Justice in 1983. He became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on May 25, 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on July 23, 1990, and he took his seat October 2, 1990. Justice Souter served 18 years on the Court. He retired on June 29, 2009.
Members support the Society’s efforts to increase awareness of the Court’s contributions to our nation’s constitutional heritage. Benefits include: Court history publications, special event invitations, discounts.
SCHS sponsored events cover Supreme Court history themes, from early landmark figures and cases such as McCullough, to civics, labor, women’s rights, immigration, Constitutional controversies.
Documentaries covering landmark points on the timeline of Supreme Court history, including: FDR’s court packing controversy, the contested 1876 election + John Marshall & Marbury v. Madison.
Visit the Supreme Court Historical Society’s CIVICS website to learn about the history and cases of the Supreme Court of the United States and gain insights into key figures associated with the Court.
A timeline of Supreme Court history, including the Marshall and Warren Courts + landmark cases: West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, and significant rulings in women’s rights court cases.