Mr. Souter Comes to Town

Monday, Oct. 15, 1990 By JEROME CRAMER WASHINGTON
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Even before David Souter takes his place as the 105th Justice of the Supreme Court, he has been assured a place in history. Well into the next century, future court nominees are certain to pore over videotapes of his Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, searching for inspiration on how to win easy confirmation. Souter's low-key, courteous performance was so skillful that the final 90-to-9 vote for his confirmation on the Senate floor last week sparked little emotional debate. Kate Michelman, director of the National Abortion Rights Action League, simply called the Senate vote a "dangerous leap of faith."

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The fact was that Senators and the American public seemed as impressed with Souter's intelligence as they were with his image as a shy, decent man who likes old cars, black-and-white television sets and the Boston Red Sox. During the confirmation hearings, Souter, 51, slept on an extra bed at the apartment of his mentor, New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman; soon he will settle into a modest one-bedroom apartment that the Justice-to-be found, with Rudman's help, within walking distance of the court. Souter's few sticks of furniture and more numerous stacks of books will be trucked down by friends from Weare, N.H., after the Justice takes his oath of office this week. "Nearly every lawyer and friend in New Hampshire wants a ticket to the ceremony," says Souter's longtime confidant, Tom Rath, a former state attorney general.

Life surely will change for Souter once he officially dons his robe -- the same one he wore as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge in Boston -- for the first time, one week into the court's new term. The Washington Post has already named him the town's leading bachelor, while admitting that he is not exactly "your standard hunka hunka burning love." In an effort to help him with the local ladies, the Post printed the Supreme Court's telephone number (202-479-3000).

Along with a barrage of media attention, Souter faces several immediate housekeeping tasks. First is the hiring of a secretary and four legal clerks to help sift through the mounds of paperwork and petitions that are every Justice's lot. His clerks will have a say in which cases the court will hear and, along with their fellow clerks, are the only individuals who can openly argue the merits of pending cases with the Justices. Souter will probably bring at least one clerk with him from New Hampshire and will soon begin interviewing the flood of candidates clamoring for the remaining jobs.