. Litigation is pending against laws in Florida, Louisiana,

Souter was history’s 105th Supreme Court justice and only its sixth bachelor.Although hailed by The Washington Post as the capital city’s most prominently eligible single man when he moved from New Hampshire, Souter resolutely resisted the social whirl.

“I wasn’t that kind of person before I moved to Washington, and, at this age, I don’t see any reason to change,” the intensely private Souter told an acquaintance.He worked seven days a week through most of the court’s term from October to early summer, staying at his Supreme Court office for more than 12 hours a day. He said he underwent an annual “intellectual lobotomy” at the start of each term because he had so little time to read for pleasure.Souter rented an apartment a few miles from the court and jogged alone at Fort McNair, an Army installation near his apartment building. He was once mugged while on a run, an apparently random act.

Souter returned to his well-worn house in Weare, New Hampshire, for a few months each summer and was given the use of an office in a Concord courthouse.U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, smiles after speaking during a dedication ceremony at the State Supreme Courthouse in Concord, N.H., July 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, smiles after speaking during a dedication ceremony at the State Supreme Courthouse in Concord, N.H., July 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

An avid hiker, Souter spent much of his time away from work trekking through the New Hampshire mountains.Ruggerio also successfully sponsored bills to address the opioid epidemic.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said Ruggerio “championed efforts to improve public health and increase access to lifesaving cancer screening tests.” It inducted him into its Rhode Island Cancer Caucus in 2022.Kathleen Layton, a volunteer with the Rhode Island chapter of Moms Demand Action, said Ruggerio also would be remembered for his support for gun safety measures, including strong storage requirements and prohibitions on high capacity magazines and banning guns from schools.

“We mourn alongside the rest of Rhode Island to have lost a great leader, and we are thinking of his family during this difficult time,” she said.Ruggerio, who was anti-abortion, did not support legislation to preserve federal abortion protections in state law. But he said he was determined not to impose his personal views on other Senate members. Lawmakers passed the bill.