David Souter, Lawyerly Lairs, Real Estate, SCOTUS, Supreme Court

Lawyerly Lairs: Souter's Upgrade

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I guess Justice Souter no longer has to play the role of humble civil servant, and can now start living the life of a former uber-powerful person. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that Souter is getting new digs:

When he retired from the Supreme Court in June, it was expected that Justice David H. Souter would return to his beloved family farmhouse in Weare, N.H., a rustic abode with peeling brown paint, rotting beams and plenty of the solitude he desired….
On July 30, he bought a 3,448-square-foot Cape Cod-style home in neighboring Hopkinton listed at $549,000. The single-floor home, for which he paid a reported $510,000, sits on 2.36 well-manicured acres.

The ABA Journal notes that Souter needed more space for his books.
At least he’s staying in New Hampshire. But his neighbors in Weare are acting like Souter is leaving the neighborhood to move to Havana or something. More details, plus photos, after the jump.


The Concord Monitor reports that Souter’s move is straining a great bromance:

Jimmy Gilman described in one word how he felt when he learned this week that his longtime neighbor, retired Supreme Court justice David Souter, was moving away from Weare: devastated.
“I took that as some of the worst news I’ve heard in a while,” said Gilman, who’s 56 and shared the same road with Souter, who’s 69, for as long as he could remember. “I think the world of the man, and I don’t care who knows it.”

Jimmy, you realize the guy is just moving to the neighboring town, right?
Meanwhile, Souter’s new neighbors seem excited, in a reserved, New England sort of way:

Mary French, who lives down the street in Hopkins Green, said while she may not have agreed with all of the nearly two decades of decisions Souter made on the High Court, she was happy to learn he’d be coming to the neighborhood.
French said she thinks people will respect that because Souter has been in the public eye for so many years, he may be ready for some privacy.
“I think he’ll like it here. We’ve found it very welcoming,” French said, who’s lived there for nearly 40 years. “He seems to have played the role of being a somewhat private person. . . . Hopkins Green is a very pretty, very quiet place.”

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Pretty, private, quiet — do they serve Soma with that? It sounds like Souter is moving into an upscale nursing home.
Oh well, to each his own. But I hope that when Scalia retires he builds a villa in Miami and does freelance work as a boat captain with T-Pain. It’ll just be more interesting.
Off the Bench, Souter Leaves Farmhouse Behind [New York Times]
Souter moving to Hopkinton [Concord Monitor]
Souter Buys Home in Swanky Area, Says Farmhouse Won’t Hold All His Books [ABA Journal]

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