May 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter said today he will retire, giving President Barack Obama his first chance to shape the nation’s highest court.

Obama, who will be the first Democrat to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 15 years, promised to choose a successor who shows “empathy” for Americans’ daily lives and is “dedicated to the rule of law.” The president interrupted a White House briefing to tell reporters that Souter had informed him of his decision.

Souter, 69, is a Republican appointee who became a supporter of abortion rights and affirmative action on the court. Because he has generally been a member of the court’s liberal wing, his replacement isn’t likely to shift the court’s balance on many issues. Still, by naming a younger successor, Obama can put his imprint on the court for decades.

“I will seek someone who understands that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives,” the president said.

Obama said he will consult with members of both political parties in making his choice. The nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats 59- 40.

The president is almost certain to nominate a woman, according to many court watchers. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a 76- year-old who is being treated for pancreatic cancer, is currently the only female justice. The president also will come under pressure to name the first Hispanic to the high court.

Potential Nominees

Potential nominees include Elena Kagan, 49, who Obama named to be the first female solicitor general, the administration’s top courtroom lawyer; Sonia Sotomayor, 54, a Hispanic federal appeals court judge in New York; and Diane Wood, 58, a federal appeals court judge in Chicago who served with Obama on the faculty at the University of Chicago Law school.

Obama also might look to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, 51, or Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, 50.

By making his plans known now, rather than waiting until the end of the term as other justices have done, Souter gives Obama extra time to choose a successor and ensure Senate confirmation before the next term starts in October.

Obama said Souter “has shown what it means to be a fair- minded and independent judge” who didn’t push a political agenda.

‘Personal Politics’

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement he hopes Obama will choose a nominee who will be even-handed and nonpartisan, not someone who will decide cases “based on their feelings or personal politics.”

Obama should nominate someone who, like Souter, will “defend our personal freedoms and ensure that every person has equal access to justice,” Marge Baker, executive vice president of the liberal People for the American Way, based in Washington, said in a statement.

Even before Souter announced his retirement plans, conservative groups began laying the groundwork for their anticipated opposition to Obama’s selection. “The reported retirement of Justice Souter marks the beginning of President Obama’s legal legacy -- a legacy that will move this country dramatically to the left,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice.

Souter’s retirement will come at a relatively young age. Five of his eight colleagues are older than him, including 89- year-old John Paul Stevens. Speculation about Souter’s plans had increased in recent weeks because he hadn’t hired law clerks for the court’s next term.

Justice Breyer

The last justice nominated by a Democratic president was Stephen Breyer, named to the high court by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

Souter supported gay rights, restrictions on the death penalty and limits on presidential power. He dissented from the 5-4 decision that sealed the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush after his efforts to broker a compromise failed.

He was near the middle of the court on business issues. He wrote the court’s 2008 opinion cutting the $2.5 billion punitive damage award against Exxon Mobil Corp. for the 1989 Valdez disaster to $507.5 million.

Souter has made no secret that he longs to return to his native New Hampshire. Speaking before an audience of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences last month, he quipped that he undergoes “sort of an intellectual lobotomy” every October when the Supreme Court returns from its three-month recess.

‘Stealth Nominee’

Some court-watchers called Souter a “stealth nominee” when he was selected in 1990 by Republican President George H.W. Bush. Souter, a former state court judge, had given little indication how he would rule on federal constitutional issues.

In 1992 Souter and Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy wrote an unusual joint opinion that upheld the right to abortion established in 1973 by the Roe v. Wade decision. Each of the three justices announced part of the decision from the bench.

To overrule Roe “would subvert the court’s legitimacy beyond any reasonable question,” Souter told the courtroom audience. “Roe has not proven unworkable in practice.”

When the court barred clergy-led prayer from public high school graduation ceremonies in 1992, Souter wrote a concurring opinion that said government sponsorship of such prayers is “understood as an official endorsement of religion.”

“However ‘ceremonial’ their messages may be, they are flatly unconstitutional,” Souter wrote.

He joined a series of decisions that bolstered the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and carved out a central role for the judiciary during wartime.

‘Over My Dead Body’

Souter has been perhaps the most private of the nine justices, eschewing media interviews and only occasionally giving public speeches. Perhaps his most famous public comments came in 1996, when he told a congressional panel that cameras would televise Supreme Court proceedings “over my dead body.”

He is far more engaging behind closed doors, according to friends and former law clerks.

He is “a much warmer and wittier man than most people suspect,” said Kermit Roosevelt, a former Souter law clerk who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia. “I doubt there’s any justice better loved by his clerks.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 1, 2009 15:54 EDT