Stevens’ Colleagues Pay Respects In Supreme Court Ceremony

WASHINGTON (AP) – Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has been remembered as a “brilliant man” with a “deep devotion to the rule of law” during a ceremony at the court where he served for nearly 35 years.

Stevens died last week in Florida at age 99 after suffering a stroke, and his body is in repose in the court’s Great Hall.

At a ceremony Monday, Justice Elena Kagan called Stevens modest and humble. Kagan replaced Stevens on the court when he retired in 2010.

Six of Stevens’ former colleagues were at the court to pay their respects. Besides Kagan, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor attended the ceremony along with retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Stevens will be buried Tuesday in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.