Justice Souter, a humble public servant, skipped the speaking engagements and tours that made his colleagues “pop culture” stars (Opinion)

This week the US Supreme Court informed the passing of Justice David Souter who served on the Court from to where he wrote landmark opinions on a wide range of issues including the separation of church and state campaign finance revision abortion rights and pleading standards in civil cases I had the good fortune of serving as his law clerk from to at the height of his powers Justice Souter embodied the highest ideals of civil amenity Appointed to the U S Supreme Court in by President George H W Bush he this instant established himself as one of the leading voices on the Court He was an independent thinker not afraid to make decisions that defied the expectations of the political party that appointed him especially as the values of his party changed around him over the years A self-described common law judge he placed special emphasis on the facts of the matter perhaps because he was the only member of the Rehnquist Court who had previously served as a trial judge Despite almost perpetually being the smartest in any room Souter was invariably the majority of humble He treated his law clerks as if they were his law partners consistently welcoming them to challenge his thinking He knew the names and personal backgrounds of every employee of the Court right down to the guards and elevator operators On largest part weekends he came into the office dressed in a three-piece suit and as he strode toward his chambers he greeted each staffer and sought about their various family members by name More than any of his peers Justice Souter avoided the spotlight and disliked the Washington D C scene preferring to return to his beloved New Hampshire When he stepped down from the Court at age in he did something virtually unprecedented he went on to hear cases for more than a decade in the federal court of appeals in Boston meaning his opinions were subject to the review of his former colleagues Souter just loved being a judge and for him it was never about seeking the limelight To say Justice Souter was a throwback would be an understatement He drafted opinions in longhand without the use of a computer or cell phone When he needed to be reached for a vote during the summer months federal agents put a Post-it note on his front door in New Hampshire reminding him to dial in I once summoned the courage to ask him whether he might one day consider using email He replied that he might depending on the rising cost of postage stamps Related Articles Trump asks Supreme Court to allow him to end humanitarian parole for people from countries Supreme Court allows Trump ban on transgender members of the military to take effect for now Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strip legal protections from Venezuelan foreigners Trump asks Supreme Court to allow ban on transgender members of the military to take effect for now US judge presses Trump administration on its refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia Justice Souter s impeccable integrity and his conception of society organization also stood out At a time when it was not uncommon for his peers to trip across Europe during the summers to give paid lectures cultivating their growing reputations as pop tradition celebrities Justice Souter took the opposite approach reliably keeping a low profile and refusing to spend taxpayer money on anything he didn t need to He routinely wrote a check to the U S Treasury to repay American taxpayers for the portion of the Poland Spring water that he estimated he had consumed for personal purposes during his after-work jogging outings Souter never took himself too seriously In the Grokster occurrence he wrote for the majority on the topic of intellectual property in the context of file sharing He demanded his law clerks to recommend an artist he could reference in his opinion The artist we chose encapsulated our view of the boss Modest Mouse As modest as a mouse but as strong and intellectually self-confident as a lion we will never forget the example of civil operation that he set Bryan Leach CEO of Ibotta headquartered in Denver served as a law clerk to Justice Souter during the October Term Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns editorials and more To send a letter to the editor about this article submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail