Souter Takes Oath of Office in Scaled-Back Celebration

Judge David H. Souter took the constitutional oath of office Monday as the newest member of the Supreme Court--an event that may shift the balance of power in the nation’s highest court.

In a White House celebration scaled back because of the federal budget crisis, President Bush and dozens of top officials looked on as the 51-year-old jurist from New Hampshire took the oath and vowed to “do the best I can.”

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist administered the first of two oaths given to Supreme Court justices. A judicial oath was slated to be given today at the Supreme Court, where Souter begins his first day of work.

Bush hailed the latest addition to the court as a man who believes “the role assigned to judges in our system is to interpret the Constitution and lesser laws, and not to make them.”

Bush initially had intended to host a reception for Souter and several hundred guests invited to the East Room ceremony, but scrapped the celebration for his first Supreme Court nominee because of the struggle with Congress over a federal budget.

Government funding technically expired Friday.

Souter replaces Associate Justice William J. Brennan--a legendary stalwart for liberal interpretations of the law during a 34-year span on the court.

During brief remarks Bush turned to Brennan, who was sitting nearby, and praised him as a “beloved and respected” member of the court.

Souter, dubbed the “stealth nominee” because so little was known about him when he was chosen by Bush in July, is expected to shift the court toward more conservative rulings.

During Senate confirmation hearings last month, Souter refused to discuss the most controversial issue he must face: abortion.

He said justices must guard against imposing their own views above the law and promised that he had no personal agenda he wanted to see the Supreme Court approve.

Though he divulged little about his views, he was confirmed, 90 to 9.

Souter was confirmed as a federal appeals court judge in April after 12 years as a state superior and supreme court judge in New Hampshire and two years as state attorney general, succeeding his friend, Sen. Warren B. Rudman.

Souter graduated from Harvard with honors and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford before graduating from Harvard Law School.

He was born Sept. 17, 1939, in Weare, N.H., where he was living at the time of his nomination as sole occupant of the family farmhouse. Friends say he spends most of his free time reading and hiking.