WASHINGTON — It took Justice David Souter’s final day at the Supreme Court to bring him into the limelight after nearly two decades in Washington.
A New England Republican who became a member of the court’s liberal bloc, the typically reticent Souter opened up a bit Monday, saying how much the strong bonds forged with his fellow justices had meant to him.
At the close of the morning’s business, Souter, 69, read aloud from a letter to his colleagues, saying that friendship “has held us together” despite sometimes strong disagreements.
As it was for much of his tenure, disagreement was the order of Souter’s last day, with the justice on the losing end of a 5-4 decision in favor of white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who argued they were unfairly denied promotions because of their race.
