The late Justice John Paul Stevens honored at the Supreme Court

The body of Justice John Paul Stevens laid in repose at the Supreme Court on Monday, where colleagues praised him as a jurist of deep convictions.

President Trump was among those who stopped by to pay respects to the late justice, who died at age 99 last week in Florida after a stroke. He served 35 years on the high court. Justice Stevens was appointed by President Gerald Ford, a Republican, but he became a hero to liberals for his fierce defense of their causes.

Justice Elena Kagan, who filled his seat on the bench when he retired in 2010, said he was a hero for judges.

“There was nobody who stuck more firmly to his own convictions and in doing so over the years he built up a body of work … that demonstrates an extraordinary judicial wisdom, unsurpassed by any modern justice,” she said.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Sonia Sotomayor also attended Monday’s viewing, as did former Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Other justices were unable to attend because of prior commitments, said court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg.

Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump made the trip down Pennsylvania Avenue to pay their respects, bowing their heads before the flag-draped casket in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court.

The president also briefly shook hands with Chief Justice Roberts, whom Mr. Trump had clashed with last month after a ruling against his efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Supreme Court police officers carried the casket, with Stevens’ former law clerks acting as honorary pallbearers.

During her remarks, Justice Kagan told the former law clerks they learned how to lead an honorable life from their boss, not only about the law.

“As you have live by those lessons and as you pass them on to others after you, you perhaps do the most to honor Justice Stevens and to honor his legacy,” said Justice Kagan.

Stevens died last week in Fort Lauderdale from complications after suffering a stroke.

A private funeral will be held on Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery. Justice Stevens, who served in the Navy during World War II before going to law school at Northwestern University, will be buried in a section of the cemetery where several other justices have been laid to rest.

Justice Stevens became known as a leading liberal, particularly on abortion and LGBTQ rights.

He also shifted over the years on affirmative action, having early in his tenure opposed racial set-asides but by the end of his career voting to uphold an affirmative action program at the University of Michigan’s law school.

• Dave Boyer contributed to this report, which is based in part on wire-service reports.