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'''David Hackett Souter''' was an [[Associate Justice]] of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]. On May 1, 2009, he sent his official notice of resignation to President [[Barack Hussein Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Scribd|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/14839021/Souters-Letter|language=English|date=May 1, 2009|accessdate=May 2, 2009|author=Justice David Souter|work=The Supreme Court of the United States|title=Souter's Letter}}</ref>  He has reportedly wanted to resign since the 2000 election, but apparently delayed his retirement.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-souter-cases2-2009may02,0,5579976.story</ref>

'''David Hackett Souter''' was an [[Associate Justice]] of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]. On May 1, 2009, he sent his official notice of resignation to President [[Barack Hussein Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Scribd|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/14839021/Souters-Letter|language=English|date=May 1, 2009|accessdate=May 2, 2009|author=Justice David Souter|work=The Supreme Court of the United States|title=Souter's Letter}}</ref>  He has reportedly wanted to resign ever since the 2000 election, but apparently delayed his retirement.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-souter-cases2-2009may02,0,5579976.story</ref>  Incredibly, he prohibited releasing his papers until 50 years after his death, as though anyone would have any interest about him so far into the distant future.<ref>https://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/08/souter-blocks-access-to-his-papers-for-50-years.html</ref>

Souter was nominated for the [[Supreme Court]] in 1990 by President [[George H. W. Bush]] to succeed retiring Associate Justice [[William Brennan|William J. Brennan]], often known as one of the Court's two most liberal members (the other being Associate Justice [[Thurgood Marshall]], who would retire the following year). Thus, this vacancy represented a chance for President Bush to shift the Court to the right, as his predecessor, [[Ronald Reagan]], had tried to do. In nominating Souter, Bush had adopted what has come to be known as the "stealth strategy." Souter had a very small "paper trail," thus making him difficult to label as a conservative or a liberal. Some [[conservatives]] advising President Bush failed to realize that a stealth candidate may not withstand the intense pressure of the [[liberal]] media after confirmation, a mistake that may have been repeated in the ill-fated nomination of [[Harriet Miers]] about 15 years later.  

Souter was nominated for the [[Supreme Court]] in 1990 by President [[George H. W. Bush]] to succeed retiring Associate Justice [[William Brennan|William J. Brennan]], often known as one of the Court's two most liberal members (the other being Associate Justice [[Thurgood Marshall]], who would retire the following year). Thus, this vacancy represented a chance for President Bush to shift the Court to the right, as his predecessor, [[Ronald Reagan]], had tried to do. In nominating Souter, Bush had adopted what has come to be known as the "stealth strategy." Souter had a very small "paper trail," thus making him difficult to label as a conservative or a liberal. Some [[conservatives]] advising President Bush failed to realize that a stealth candidate may not withstand the intense pressure of the [[liberal]] media after confirmation, a mistake that may have been repeated in the ill-fated nomination of [[Harriet Miers]] about 15 years later.