European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes tuesday september 11,1990 a a to % a Colour tins r to of a a a a. A a. Saw ? a 1 \ r so As. Or. J.,a a a a a i it a a. David g. Savage and Lyle Denniston Souter a sketchy Legal prose uncovers few clues while Many americans have been on vacation George Kassouf an investigator for the Liberal Alliance for Justice has spent the summer scouring courthouses in new Hampshire looking for footprints of David h. Souter president Bush a nominee to the . Supreme court. After weeks of poring through judicial files Kassouf has found the record a revealing although Souter was a trial judge for five years his decisions rarely contained written opinions. A a there a not much you can glean from these a Kassouf laments. This week As the Senate judiciary committee begins confirmation hearings on Souter a nomination democrats and Liberal activists concede they have not found a fiery speech or a provocative comment in Souter a past that could fuel a fight against him. Unlike judge Robert h. Bork whose nomination was Defeated following contentious Senate committee hearings Souter has avoided writing Law review articles and giving speeches. His court opinions Are terse and dry. Still those who have studied Souter a record no longer Are calling him a a Blank  enough evidence of the nominees views have emerged to make liberals leery and conservatives comfortable. For example Souter has voiced opposition to Many forms of abortion. He dislikes affirmative action programs contending they amount to reverse discrimination. And he has vigorously defended the states Effort to use the lords prayer in its Public schools. If Souter proves to be the consistent vote on the right that liberals fear and conservatives relish his appointment could prove a watershed. By naming a relatively Young conservative to replace the courts leading Liberal Justice William j. Brennan jr., the right could put a lock on the supreme court for a decade or More. Because the 50-year old Souter has written and said Little on constitutional issues the Senate hearings which begin thursday will see the two parties sharply divided. Democrats will be pressing Souter to elaborate on his views on privacy abortion civil rights free speech and the role of the Federal courts. Committee republicans will argue again that the hearing should focus on the nominees competence and integrity not his Legal views. Here Are a few sometimes illuminating samples of the new nominees views on abortion a in 1977, Souter As state attorney general spoke out against a proposed repeal of an 1848 state Law that made abortion a crime a even though the measure had been largely invalidated by the supreme court in Roe. Is. Wade. A quite apart from the fact that i done to think unlimited abortions ought to be allowed. I presume we would become the abortion Mill of the United states a Souter told the Manchester Union Leader. He warned that women seeking late abortions which were illegal in several states would come instead to new Hampshire for their operations. A the year before Souter had filed a Legal Brief arguing that the state should not have to pay for abortions for poor women. Abortion was referred to As a the killing of unborn children and the a destruction of  but an assistant attorney general has said that he not Souter wrote the Brief. A in 1986, the new Hampshire supreme court upheld a woman a right to sue her doctor because he did not test for potential birth defects and advise her of the option of abortion. In a concurring statement Souter referred to abortion not As a fundamental right but As being a necessarily permitted under Roe is. Wade a adding that doctors with a moral scruples against abortion Are certainly not required to perform such operations themselves. On civil rights a in a May 1976 speech reported in a newspaper account Souter said he opposed affirmative action calling it a affirmative  a the same year new Hampshire was the Only state to oppose a . Equal employment Opportunity commission Rule requiring agencies to report on the race and ethnic make up of their work Force. Appealing to the Federal courts Souter said that the Rule could Lead to quotas and contended it was Quot contrary to constitutional  his appeals were turned Down without a hearing. On religion a in 1978, gov. Meldrim Thompson exhorted state employees to a reverently observe Good Friday and ordered flags flown at half Mast to a memorialize the death of Christ on the  a Federal judge struck Down the order As a violation of the first amendments ban on and establishment of  Souter appealed arguing that Jesus Christ is a a a historical figure. A the lowering of the Flag to commemorate the death of Christ no More establishes a religious position on the part of the state or promotes a religion than the lowering of the Flag for the death of Humbert Humphrey promotes the cause of the democratic party in new Hampshire a Souter wrote. An appeals court in Boston briefly lifted the judges order blocking the Flag lowering but Justice William j. Brennan jr., the Man Souter has been nominated to replace reinstated the order. A in 1975, the new Hampshire legislature gave elementary schools the authority to recite a the traditional lords prayer each Day despite earlier supreme court decisions barring such activity. In a newspaper interview Souter promised to a do everything we can to uphold the Law a but a Federal judge struck it Down As a patently and obviously  on free speech a new Hampshire a Auto License plates carry the motto a live free or die a and Souter argued that state residents a have no alternative to displaying that motto. He fought All the Way to the supreme court against a Jehovah a witness couple who covered Over the motto contending that it violated their religious beliefs and their rights to free speech. The states a history tradition and individualism demand compliance with this Law Souter said in a 1977 Legal Brief. The supreme court disagreed and ruled for the couple on a 7-2 vote. On interpreting the Constitution a Souter has declared himself a believer in the strict a original intent View of interpreting the Constitution. In 1986, Souter a four colleagues on the new Hampshire supreme court ruled litigants could not be charged a fee by a probate judge because the state Constitution says citizens Are guaranteed the right to a obtain right and Justice freely without being obliged to Purchase  Souter dissented alone. He said that phrase should be understood strictly a in the sense in which it was used at the time of its adoption in 1784. Since private parties often paid judges in the 18th Century the practice is constitutional now Souter concluded. Legal experts have noted that if this style of interpretation were followed by the supreme court the 1954 Brown is. Board of education ruling striking Down official segregation would be wrong. The decision was based on the 14th amendments guarantee of the a equal Protection of the Laws a but segregation was common in 1868 when the amendment was written and ratified. How much either Side will be Able to make of these pronouncements remains to be seen but its clearly the liberals who Are the most worried. In reports issued last week the Alliance for Justice and people for the american Way a civil liberties group which fought the Bork nomination said Souter a slim record a raises serious and troubling  after Reading Souter a work and talking to lawyers through most of August George Kassouf says he formed a Strong impression of the nominee a a he a a Technocrat who follows the Law but shows no  Souter a chances of becoming a supreme court Justice Are due to Rise or fall this week depending almost entirely on what he has to say to the Senate judiciary committee. Souter has promised that he will answer All questions posed by the committee. At this Point there is no organized opposition to the 50-year-old Federal appeals judge and former state judge and no senator has indicated an intention to vote against him. A handful of Liberal groups is opposed to and some have said that they will seek Senate rejection of Bush a first nominee to the court. A Broad coalition of civil rights and women a rights groups that closely monitors supreme court nominations is waiting to see whether Souter removes their deep scepticism. If those groups perceive that his testimony fails to ease their doubts significantly they have talked of mounting a Campaign to Block Senate approval. But their leaders say at least in private that a Strong performance by Souter a even if it does not end the worries of the liberals in or outside the Senate a could make a fight futile. There is no indication of any potential trouble for Souter among the 45 Republican senators or among the democratic moderates who make up More than half of the Senate a 55-member party majority. No anti Souter move would have any Chance of Success without a sizable number of democratic moderates help sources on All sides agree. Tom c. Korologos a Veteran Washington lobbyist who has been helping the Bush administration prepare the Way for Souter said that the moderates Are a keeping their powder  to keep them from joining any potential opposition Korologos said Souter a will have to answer More fully than he might like when pressed at Senate hearings for his views. The lobbyist said that in his own summertime work on the nomination among senators he did a not detect anything that is going to give him trouble. The vibes were  Korologos said that there is now a a new ingredients that works in Souter a favor the crisis in the Middle East. He speculated that senators would be less inclined to take on the president at such a time and fighting the Souter nomination would be taken As a Challenge directly to Bush. At a minimum the lobbyist said the persian Gulf crisis a reduces the rhetoric by about 10  c the Baltimore Sun