David Souter set an example for the Supreme Court

David Souter, the former U.S. Supreme Court justice who died at 85 on Thursday, was sometimes mistakenly thought to have turned into a liberal after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush on the expectation that he would be an ideological conservative. History will show the opposite: Souter was among the most consistent, principled justices ever to have sat on the Supreme Court in its 235-year history. His jurisprudence was steeped in the value of precedent and the gradual, cautious evolution of the law in the direction of liberty and equality. A New Englander to the core, he said what he meant and meant what he said. At a moment of unprecedented threat to the rule of law, Souter’s career stands as a model of judicial strength and resilience tempered by modesty and restraint. If the court follows his example, the Republic will survive even the serious dangers it is facing now. At his confirmation hearings, relics of another time, Souter spoke openly of his admiration for Justice John Marshall Harlan II, known for his explanation that constitutional liberty is derived from a “Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times