AP: Justice Souter to Retire

The Associated Press is reporting that Justice David Souter, 69, will retire from the U.S. Supreme Court at the end of the court's session in June.

Souter is a native of Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. After a short time in private practice, Souter eventual rose to became Attorney General of New Hampshire, Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court, and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

President George H. W. Bush appointed Souter to the United States Supreme Court, to which he was confirmed in October of 1990. Although Souter was appointed under a Republican administration, he is largely considered to be a more liberal member of the Court.

With Sen. Arlen Specter now a Democrat and the Minnesota Supreme Court set to decide the Senate race there by June, Democrats are poised to have a 60-vote majority during any confirmation process. The nomination will go through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Specter led for the Republicans until Tuesday.

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