Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 24, 1990                   TAG: 9007240101
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FRANK BAKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.H.                                LENGTH: Medium

SOUTER DESCRIBED AS PRIVATE, BRILLIANT

Never married, he lives alone on the family farm near Weare, N.H., where he moved from the Boston suburb of Melrose when he was 11. He's now 50.

Like President Bush, who appointed him, Souter is an Episcopalian and a Republican. He never served in the military.

He belongs to the Appalachian Mountain Club and is in excellent health, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time he was nominated to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals this spring.

He had a net worth of $621,252 at the end of 1989 - including $191,000 in "autos and other personal property," $190,000 in securities and $150,000 in real estate - according to financial records released Monday by the committee. He listed no liabilities.

One of Souter's mentors, Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., described him Monday as "a classic conservative with great reverence for the Constitution and the law."

Bush said he wanted a justice who would rely on the Constitution and not "legislate from the bench." And the president seemed to be getting what he wanted, judging from the comments of lawyers who know Souter - as well as from the few personal remarks of Souter's that have made it into print.

Stanley Brown, a Manchester trial attorney, described Souter as a cautious judge who ignores the political and emotional consequences of each case when reaching a decision.

"If there is any weakness in the man, it is that he does not pay any attention to the emotional, political aspects," Brown said. "You are not supposed to and he doesn't . . . He is not going to create a Constitution."