U.S. Supreme Court / Appointed 1990 / Served to 2009
David Hackett Souter
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and confirmed by the Senate 90–9, David Hackett Souter was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1966. He previously served on the First Circuit.Sources — FJC Biographical Directory · Senate confirmation, October 2, 1990
- Appointed by
- George H.W. Bush, 1990
- Confirmed
- 90–9
- Education
- Harvard College 1961 · Harvard Law School 1966
- Succeeded
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
- Succeeded by
- Sonia Sotomayor
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | First Circuit | Bush (R) | voice |
| 1990 | Supreme Court · succeeded William Joseph Brennan Jr. | Bush (R) | 90–9 |
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 90–9 on October 2, 1990 · 101st Congress, Roll Call 259. Senators link to their PolitiFinder profiles where identified.
Voted to confirm · 90
- William Armstrong(R-CO)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Lloyd Bentsen(D-TX)
- Joseph Biden(D-DE)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- David Boren(D-OK)
- Rudy Boschwitz(R-MN)
- John Breaux(D-LA)
- Richard Bryan(D-NV)
- Dale Bumpers(D-AR)
- Conrad Burns(R-MT)
- Robert Byrd(D-WV)
- John Chafee(R-RI)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- William Cohen(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Alfonse D'Amato(R-NY)
- John Danforth(R-MO)
- Thomas Daschle(D-SD)
- Dennis DeConcini(D-AZ)
- Alan Dixon(D-IL)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- Bob Dole(R-KS)
- Pete Domenici(R-NM)
- Dave Durenberger(R-MN)
- J. Exon(D-NE)
- Wendell Ford(D-KY)
- Wyche Fowler(D-GA)
- Jake Garn(R-UT)
- John Glenn(D-OH)
- Albert Gore(D-TN)
- Slade Gorton(R-WA)
- Bob Graham(D-FL)
- Phil Gramm(R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Mark Hatfield(R-OR)
- Howell Heflin(D-AL)
- John Heinz(R-PA)
- Jesse Helms(R-NC)
- Ernest Hollings(D-SC)
- Gordon Humphrey(R-NH)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- James Jeffords(R-VT)
- J. Johnston(D-LA)
- Nancy Kassebaum(R-KS)
- Robert Kasten(R-WI)
- J. Kerrey(D-NE)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joseph Lieberman(D-CT)
- Trent Lott(R-MS)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Connie Mack(R-FL)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- James McClure(R-ID)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Howard Metzenbaum(D-OH)
- George Mitchell(D-ME)
- Daniel Moynihan(D-NY)
- Frank Murkowski(R-AK)
- Don Nickles(R-OK)
- Sam Nunn(D-GA)
- Bob Packwood(R-OR)
- Claiborne Pell(D-RI)
- Larry Pressler(R-SD)
- David Pryor(D-AR)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Donald Riegle(D-MI)
- Charles Robb(D-VA)
- John Rockefeller(D-WV)
- William Roth(R-DE)
- Warren Rudman(R-NH)
- Terry Sanford(D-NC)
- Paul Sarbanes(D-MD)
- Jim Sasser(D-TN)
- Richard Shelby(D-AL)
- Paul Simon(D-IL)
- Alan Simpson(R-WY)
- Arlen Specter(R-PA)
- Ted Stevens(R-AK)
- Steve Symms(R-ID)
- Strom Thurmond(R-SC)
- Malcolm Wallop(R-WY)
- John Warner(R-VA)
- Timothy Wirth(D-CO)
Voted against · 9
- Brock Adams(D-WA)
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Bill Bradley(D-NJ)
- Quentin Burdick(D-ND)
- Alan Cranston(D-CA)
- Edward Kennedy(D-MA)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
Did not vote · 1
- Pete Wilson(R-CA)
Education
| Harvard College | B.A. | 1961 |
| University of Oxford, Magdalen College | B.A. | 1963 |
| University of Oxford, Magdalen College | M.A. | 1963 |
| Harvard Law School | LL.B. | 1966 |
Sources
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: "Courtesy of the Supreme Court of the United States, National Geographic Society, Photographer: Joseph Bailey" (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 1990)
18 years on the Court. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).