The Legacy of Justice Souter

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter passed away on May 8, 2025, at his home in New Hampshire. In this episode, his former clerks, Judge Kevin Newsom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and Professor Jeannie Suk Gersen of Harvard Law School, join Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation on Justice Souter’s life and constitutional legacy. Retired Justice Stephen Breyer also shares memories of his former colleague. Resources Jeannie Suk Gersen, “Justice Souter Was the Antithesis of the Present,” The New Yorker (May 15, 2025) Linda Greenhouse, “David H. Souter, Republican Justice Who Allied With Court’s Liberal Wing, Dies at 85,” The New York Times (May 9, 2025) Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) Bush v. Gore (2000) Atwater v. City of Lago Vista (2001) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support our important work. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	On May 8th, 2025, Justice David Souter passed away at his home in New Hampshire.
0:09.7	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center,
0:14.7	and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate. The National Constitution
0:19.4	Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit,
0:21.6	chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American
0:26.6	people. This week we honor the memory of Justice Souter by welcoming two of his former
0:32.6	clerks for a conversation about his life and constitutional legacy. We'll also be joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, who came to the National Constitution
0:40.7	Center this week and offered some reflections about his former colleague.
0:45.5	Judge Kevin Newsom serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
0:49.1	Before his appointment in 2017, he was a partner at Bradley, Aaron Bolt, and Cummings. From 2003 to 2007, he served a
0:57.5	Solicitor General for the state of Alabama. He clerked for Justice Souter during the 2000 to 2001 term.
1:04.1	Judge Newsom, it's wonderful to welcome you to We the People. Thank you so much, Jeff, for having me.
1:09.6	And Jeannie Sukgerson is the John H. Watson Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
1:14.6	She's a Guggenheim Fellow, a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow, a Marshall Scholar,
1:18.7	and a recipient of Harvard Law School's Sacks Freund Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence.
1:22.9	She's a contributing writer to the New Yorker, and she clerked for Justice Souter during the 2003 to 2004 term.
1:29.0	Jeannie, it's wonderful to welcome you back to We the People.
1:31.7	Thank you. It's great to be here.
1:33.5	Let's start with your memories of Justice Souter. Judge Newsom, what do you want We the people listeners to know about him?
1:46.0	Oh, boy.
1:47.9	So many things.
1:49.8	But I think I would really start with just his down-to-earthedness, if I can coin a phrase,
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 1 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.