Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is lying in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court on Monday. The flag-draped casket was brought into the court as more than 80 of his former law clerks lined the marble steps of the building.
Several of the current justices, including Elena Kagan, whom former President Barack Obama named to replace Stevens when he retired in 2010, paid their respects. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited later in the morning.
Stevens died July 16 at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., following a stroke.
Stevens was named to the court by President Gerald Ford in 1975. In announcing Stevens' death, Chief Justice John Roberts called him "a son of the Midwest heartland and a veteran of World War II" who "brought to our bench an inimitable blend of kindness, humility, wisdom, and independence."
Stevens wrote some 400 majority opinions during his long court career and was seen as one of its leading liberals, though Stevens disagreedwith that categorization, arguing that he was a conservative but that the court had moved further and further to the right during his tenure.
Stevens' body will remain at the court he served for 35 years through the day for public viewing. Stevens will be buried Tuesday at a private service at Arlington National Cemetery.
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