President Trump, Supreme Court justices pay respects to late Associate Justice John Paul Stevens

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and a majority of Supreme Court justices paid homage Monday to the late Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the third longest-serving justice in history who died last week at the age of 99.

Stevens, who came to the court as the nominee of a Republican president but left 35 years later as the leader of the liberal wing, was hailed as "an honest and a humble man" as his body lay in repose inside the court's Great Hall.

His successor on the bench, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, told an assemblage of her colleagues, court employees, Stevens' extended family and more than 100 former law clerks that the Illinois native's "extraordinary judicial wisdom" was "unsurpassed by any other modern justice."

"He thought that no person, no matter how high and mighty, was above the law and insisted that the law and the legal system treat every person, however weak or defenseless, with dignity and with fairness," Kagan said.

The president and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at the court shortly before 11 a.m. They shook hands with Chief Justice John Roberts, with whom Trump has quarreled during his presidency. Then they stood, eyes shut and hands clasped in front of them, before Stevens' flag-draped coffin before walking on to see the three-quarter length portrait of Stevens painted in 1991 by James Ingwersen.

Stevens' coffin rested on the Lincoln Catafalque, where it was to remain throughout the day as mourners paid their respects. A private funeral will be held Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery, where the Navy veteran of World War II will be buried.

The last justice to lie in repose at the court was Antonin Scalia, the leader of the court's conservative wing during most of Stevens' tenure. Scalia died in 2016 while on a hunting trip in Texas.

Stevens was the nation's second oldest justice when he retired at 90 in 2010. He succeeded William O. Douglas, the longest-serving justice in history.

Five current justices attended the morning service in the Great Hall: Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Kagan. They were joined by retired Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were traveling or had other commitments and could not be in attendance. Kavanaugh's wife, Ashley, was there, as was the late Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall's widow, Cecelia.

Among scores of former law clerks who lined the Supreme Court steps as Stevens' coffin arrived were some of the legal profession's top scholars, including U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Harris, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and former acting U.S. solicitor general Ian Gershengorn.

In her remarks, Kagan called Stevens a personal hero, just as Stevens had used the term in reference to one of his predecessors, the legendary Associate Justice Louis Brandeis.

Stevens "was a brilliant man with extraordinary legal gifts and talents," Kagan said.

Navy Captain Judy Malana delivered a brief prayer at the start of the short service, noting that Stevens, a Chicago Cubs fan, had "stepped up to the plate" during World War II.

Later as an appeals court judge and Supreme Court justice, she said, Stevens "stood as a sentinel over the rule of law."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump pays respects to late Supreme Court Justice Stevens