Justice Stevens, a ‘model’ for Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor

Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, though they joined the high court nearly two decades apart, each viewed the late Justice John Paul Stevens as their role model, admiring his civility on the nation’s highest court.

The two Democrat-appointed justices praised Stevens in separate statements Wednesday, the day after the Supreme Court announced his passing at 99 years old.

Justice Ginsburg, who served with Stevens for 17 years, said he was a “model for all a collegial judge should be.”

“In a Capital City with no shortage of self-promoters, Justice Stevens set a different tone. Quick as his bright mind was, Justice Stevens remained a genuinely gentle and modest man,” she said of her late colleague.

Justice Sotomayor, who joined the court less than a year before Stevens retired, said he was “an extraordinary mentor and role model to me personally.”

“We hit it off from my first day on the court, when he was the first justice to welcome me. We must have talked for hours that day,” she said. “Though we overlapped on the bench for only a year, I learned much of what I know about being a justice from him.”

Stevens passed away Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from complications of a stroke he suffered earlier in the week. His daughters were by his side, according to a Supreme Court press release.

Stevens served on the high court for about 35 years before retiring in 2010 when he was 90, making him the third longest serving justice in the history of the court.

Stevens was nominated by President Ford in 1975 and confirmed 98-0 by the Senate.

Although he had a conservative record as a federal appeals court judge, he became a more moderate vote during his later years and tended to side with the liberal wing of the court especially on LGBT issues and women’s rights.