Souter Announces Retirement

Justice Souter's primary business decisions was Virginia Bankshares, a rambling mess of an opinion on Rule 10b-5 and mergers written early in his tenure.  Justice Scalia felt the need to summarize the holding of opinion in the opening three sentences of a concurring opinion because Souter's rendition was so confusing..  Souter will be defended by his clerks, whose major creditential is his selection of them to be clerks, and few others.  He will not be missed,  Republicans will view his retirement as his final act of disloyalty -- he could have retired last year and given Bush a pick. Democratics will view his retirement as time to finally get another "real liberal" on the court.  He was selected after a few months on an appellate court because he had no track record and was known to a few connected New Hampshire conservatives, few of whom now exist and who thought he was one of them -- he was not.  He came to be grouped with the "liberal wing" of the Court. [Some say is was a personality clash with Scalia.] He lives an isolated, monk-like life. He was a poor writer and a muddled thinker who was "work[person]like" in his court habits.  One of another of many, many non-notables on the Court, which itself is a virture of sorts.