David Souter, Former Supreme Court Justice, Dies at 85

Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who served on the high court for 19 years after being appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, has passed away. He was 85 years old.

“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,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts said in a Friday statement.

Souter was involved in several high-profile cases during his time in Washington, D.C., including Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, when he co-authored the plurality opinion with Justices O’Connor and Kennedy, upholding the core of Roe v. Wade.

Later, in 2000, Souter dissented in Bush v. Gore, which halted the Florida recount and cemented the election. While being initially pegged as a conservative, Souter often sided with more liberal justices on issues like affirmative action and abortion.

Following his retirement in 2009, Souter routinely sat as a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than a decade; the court looked at cases from New England -— New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, as well as Puerto Rico. He was born in Massachusetts and moved to New Hampshire at the age of 11.

Souter went on to attend Harvard University for both his undergraduate degree and for law school, with a stop at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar coming in between.

“After retiring to his beloved New Hampshire in 2009, he continued to render significant service to our branch by sitting regularly on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than a decade,” Justice Roberts noted. “He will be greatly missed.”

His retirement at 69 in 2009 allowed former President Barack Obama to appoint Justice Sonia Sotomayor as his replacement.

Souter also received some pop culture recognition in 1993 when Homer Simpson made it clear he was a fan. In “The Simpsons” episode “Homer Goes to College,” written by Conan O’Brien, Homer finds out many of his heroes are “nerds” —a running fear of his in the episode — according to his daughter Lisa.

“Nerds are nothing to fear, Dad,” Lisa told Homer. “In fact, some nerds of note include popcorn magnate Orville Redenbacher, rock star David Byrne and Supreme Court Justice David Souter.”

“Oh no! Not Souter!” Homer responded.

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