WASHINGTON -- Justice David H. Souter went to th Supreme Court trailing a White House prediction that his selection would be a "home run" for the conservative cause. He )) is proving much of the time -- at least by his votes -- that that isn't necessarily so.
So far in his first term -- about a third of the way through the expected decisions -- he has tended to line up most often with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who seems increasingly to lead a moderate bloc that often controls outcomes.
Of the 40 rulings the court has issued up to this point, 16 stood out as the most important, and Justice Souter voted on 13 of those. He was in the majority every time; the only other justice always in the majority in those: Justice O'Connor. (In fact, she took part in all 16 and did not dissent in any.)
Thomas Rath, a Concord, N.H., lawyer and one of Justice Souter's closest friends, remarked in a telephone interview: "I thought he would be somewhere in the middle of that court and in a position to give himself a lot of room for movement." That, he added, is exactly what he has seen happening. "He seeks his own spot."
The newest justice, according to his friend, "is turning out to be somewhat unpredictable -- and reasonable, with no preset ideologies." Recalling that many of the liberal organizations that had fought Justice Souter's nomination worried over what he had not revealed about his views, Mr. Rath said the justice has demonstrated that there was no hidden agenda he was waiting to implement.
Justice Souter has yet to dissent in any case and has written only one opinion, so most of the evidence of his positioning comes from the votes he has cast to support the majority view in a variety of key cases and from the moderate views that have seemed to emerge as he questions lawyers in public hearings.
The justices with whom he has voted least often on key cases are the four on the two philosophical ends of the court: the most conservative, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Antonin Scalia, and the most liberal, Justices Thurgood Marshall and John Paul Stevens.
Some of the conservative organizations that ultimately supported Justice Souter's nomination had hoped he would move rapidly intothe Rehnquist-Scalia bloc, and private assurances from White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu apparently bolstered that expectation.
