David Souter, the former US Supreme Court justice who dismayed Republicans by siding with liberals on some of America’s most contentious social issues after his appointment by President George H.W. Bush,

Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican appointee who retired from the high court in 2009 after voting consistently with its liberal wing, has died, the Supreme Court announced on Friday.

Souter, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, preserved abortion rights and became a reliable member of the court’s liberal bloc over two decades.