Justice HeartbreakerDavid Souter leaves the court that left him behind.

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Aziz Huq writes today that Souter's opinions are devoid of certainty, and it's true that Souter rarely writes like he's the smartest kid in the class. Souter is fond of quoting eminent jurist Learned Hand: "In the universe of truth they lived by the sword; they asked no quarter of absolutes and they gave none. Go ye and do likewise." And given the opportunity to put himself down, Souter never failed to grab it. In his 1997 eulogy for William Brennan, he said of the man who helped shepherd him through the rocky early days at the court,

While I was with him, he might tell me some things that were true, like how to count to five. And he might tell me a few things that were patently false, which he thought I might like to hear anyway. He'd bring up some pedestrian opinion that I'd delivered, and he'd tell me it was not just a very good opinion but a truly great one, and then he'd go on and tell me it wasn't just great but a genuine classic of the judge's art. And I'd listen to him, and I'd start to think that maybe he was right. Maybe it was pretty good. And then, inevitably, I'd know it wasn't, but I'd still feel great myself.

In his comments today, in announcing Souter's departure, President Obama said he was seeking a replacement who has a "sharp and independent mind, and a record of excellence and integrity … someone who understands justice is not about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook, it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives. Whether they can make a living, and care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation." He said he views "that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes."

He could have been describing Justice Souter, a man who may have looked on the surface like he preferred books to people, but in reality, and perhaps unbeknownst even to himself, always put people first.

AP video: Press Secretary, Interrupted

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