When David Souter was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1990, gay-rights groups quickly lined up to oppose him: Three years earlier, as a state judge he had signed on to an advisory opinion saying nothing prevented New Hampshire from banning gay adoption.

But once on the court, Souter stepped into the shoes of civil rights giant William Brennan and quietly grew into them. What a joyful surprise Justice Souter's nearly two-decade run turned out to be.

Using his intellectual gifts ...

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