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Souter was nominated for the [[Supreme Court]] in 1990 by President [[George H. W. Bush]] to succeed retiring Associate Justice [[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 the 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 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 the 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.  

Bush had received assurances that Souter would be a conservative from his Chief of Staff, [[John Sununu]], who had appointed Souter to the [[New Hampshire]] Supreme Court years earlier. Thus, Bush hoped to disarm liberal Senators who might oppose a blatantly conservative nominee, as they had done just three years earlier with [[Robert Bork]]. But almost immediately it was apparent to some [[conservatives]] that Souter was not pro-life, as he had served as a director on a hospital that performed [[abortions]].  [[Liberals]] seemed to know that they had won.  Even though he was grilled to define his view on abortion, Souter didn't take the bait and he was confirmed by a vote of 90-9 by the [[U.S. Senate]], with several [[conservatives]] voting against him.  

Bush had received assurances that Souter would be a conservative from his Chief of Staff, [[John Sununu]], who had appointed Souter to the [[New Hampshire]] Supreme Court years earlier. Thus, Bush hoped to disarm liberal Senators who might oppose an obviously [[conservative]] nominee, as they had done just three years earlier with [[Robert Bork]]. But almost immediately it was apparent to some [[conservatives]] that Souter was not pro-life, as he had served as a director on a hospital that performed [[abortions]].  [[Liberals]] seemed to know that they had won.  Even though he was grilled to define his view on abortion, Souter didn't take the bait and he was confirmed by a vote of 90-9 by the [[U.S. Senate]], with several [[conservatives]] voting against him.  

Souter went on to align himself firmly with the more liberal bloc on the Court, leading to [[conservative]] anger at President Bush for this calculated blunder.

Souter went on to align himself firmly with the more liberal bloc on the Court, leading to [[conservative]] anger at President Bush for this calculated blunder. Souter's style is noticeably non-legal, as when he opened one opinion with an unusually non-legal description of "[[mens rea]]":<ref>''Clark v. Arizona'', 126 S. Ct. 2709, 2716 (2006) (emphasis added).</ref>

 

== Timeline of Souter's shift from [[conservative]] to [[liberal]] ==

== Timeline of Souter's shift from [[conservative]] to [[liberal]] ==