Justice Souter says goodbye to colleagues

In a pensive farewell to colleagues on the federal bench in the Philadelphia region, retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter yesterday reminisced about his friendships and professional associations. But he gave no hint as to why he decided to step down, nor did he explain how he had evolved from a Republican appointee into one of the court's most reliable liberal votes.

Instead, Souter spoke fondly of his long association with the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which organized the conference where he gave the lunchtime address.

Souter had been the chief liaison for the Supreme Court to the Third Circuit, and had succeeded former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, a former New Jersey Supreme Court justice and a jurist who also had a liberal record, in that role. The Third Circuit is the federal appeals court for Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.

After taking office in 1990, Souter said he had called Brennan for advice in advance of a Third Circuit judicial conference that he had planned to attend.

"I asked, 'Do you have any messages that you would like to send along?' " Souter recalled. "He said, 'Just give them my love, David; give them my love.' It has been [almost] 20 years since he said that, but that goes for me, too."

That Souter, whose remarks were received with warm applause, did not explain his decision to retire was likely attributable to the fact that he had long made known to colleagues and associates his disdain for Washington. Souter much preferred his home and neighbors in New Hampshire.

"He would frequently talk about how eager he was to get back to New Hampshire at the end of the term," said Kermit Roosevelt, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who clerked for Souter in 1999 and 2000. "He likes to read and hike and spend time with close friends. The Washington social scene was too artificial and built on status for him."

Souter's departure from the court when the current session ends in June poses a unique opportunity for President Obama and others who desire a more liberal court, Roosevelt said.

Simply appointing a liberal justice will not change the power balance, but appointing a persuasive liberal jurist with the ability to nudge conservatives toward his or her views could make a difference, Roosevelt said.

Souter, introduced by the Third Circuit Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica, steered clear of politics during his address at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Philadelphia.

He urged conference attendees - who over three days included former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, former Homeland Security Secretary and Third Circuit judge Michael Chertoff, and Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. - to focus on their craft, and less on achieving career triumphs, which he said would soon be forgotten anyway.

"The value of what we do does not come from the moments we all aspire to - the error-free trial, the perfect decision," Souter said. "If we are honest, we have to realize the significance [of those moments] is very slight. How many in this room have cited an opinion that is older than 30 years, 40 years. For most of us, the work that we do sinks into the stream very quickly."