Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter has taken his long walk out into the Cursed Earth, taking law to the lawless. He will never again enter Mega-City One. For it is written: the law is unforgiving. He is and will always be the law… Scholar. Judge. Justice. Jury. Executioner.
That may or may not have been what Chief Justice John Roberts wanted to write while announcing the death of his former colleague on Friday, but instead he just went with a boilerplate that his staff likely wrote: “Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service. After retiring to his beloved New Hampshire in 2009, he continued to render significant service to our branch by sitting regularly on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than a decade. He will be greatly missed.”
Souter, known to longtime fans of The Simpsons as a “nerd,” retired in 2009. He was 85.