Capt. Judy malana let us pray. God, you are the creator and sustainer of all life. Because of this, we humbly invoke your holy presence among us in this great hall of our nations highest court. As we honor Justice John Paul stevens who was a great man from a great generation, we gather with hearts of gratitude, knowing he faithfully answered the call to serve our country when we, the people needed him the most. Country when we, the people, needed him the most. As a naval officer, he took an oath to support and defend the constitution of the united states. He stepped up to the plate using his talents to help our nation navigate victories during world war ii. As a justice, he guarded our sacred constitution, the principles of which are the foundation of our freedom and a beacon of liberty to the rest of the world. Justice stevens stood as a sentinel over the rule of law to protect our democracy. We are so grateful for the many, many gifts Justice Stevens graciously shared with serving a cause. May his courage, intellect, reason, creativity, kindness, humility and civility continue to inspire others to their best selves. May the example of his abundant life, his patriotism and his legacy of Public Service continue to inspire generations to come. Dear god, we ask that you continue to bless and comfort the Stevens Family, friends and colleagues, and the many lives he touched. We may grieve, but we grieve with a hope, with the assurance, that nothing can separate us from a love that is everlasting. May Justice John Paul stevens rest in eternal peace. Amen. Amen. Justice kagan i first want to thank the Stevens Family and also the chief justice, for giving me the opportunity to say a few words here today. I speak today as Justice Stevens successor. That is why i was asked to give these remarks. I fill the seat that Justice Justice kagan i first want to thank the Stevens Family and also the chief justice, for giving me the opportunity to say a few words here today. I speak today as Justice Stevens successor. That is why i was asked to give these remarks. I deal the seat that Justice Stevens served so honorably for the Supreme Court term. I thought about the enormity of Justice Stevens shoes and the possibility of filling them. I think Justice Stevens himself understood this connection between one justice and another who served in the same seat at this court. Among Justice Stevens many marvels was, after he left the court at the age of 90, he wrote three books. E left the court at the age of 90, he wrote three books. In the first of those, five chiefs, on the very first page, he talks about his own nomination to the court by president ford. He says he immediately realized that he was being nominated to fill the seat that Justice Louis brandeis had filled. I think im quoting accurately here. He said, that gave me a special reason for thinking of Justice Brandeis as a hero. In exactly the same way, when president obama nominated me to fill Justice Stevens seat, it gave me a special reason to think of Justice Stevens as a hero, for recognizing his judicial greatness and for honoring his legacy. Again, i want to thank liz and susan and the chief justice for asking me to say a few words about this remarkable man. Of course it is not just me who will honor Justice Stevens legacy and carry it on. For years to come, generations to come, people who had the good fortune to serve with Justice Stevens, and those who never did so, will celebrate this mans extraordinary judicial virtues and will aspire to those same virtues themselves. He was a brilliant man with extraordinary legal gifts and talents, which he combined with a deep devotion to the rule of law, and a deep commitment to equal justice. He thought that no person, however high and mighty, was above the law, and he insisted the law and legal system treat every person, however weak or defenseless, with dignity and fairness. He was a famous independent justice. Many of you know that sometimes the number of solo concurrences and dissent far exceeded those of any other justice, but at the same time, he understood he was part of a larger institution. He knew it was his job to say what he thought was right, but he also knew that it was his job to treat everybody around him with collegiality and respect. And he understood always that he could learn from others. And especially that he could learn from his colleagues. Indeed, the piece of advice that i most remember when i came to the court, he was reluctant to give advice, but when i pressed he said, in your first year and 35th year you have to keep thinking of the opportunities to learn on this job, and you have to keep thinking of the ways in which you can learn from your colleagues. He was a modest and a humble man. He did not think much about himself. And yet, there was nobody who could stand on principle more firmly. 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, both in majority opinions and in dissenting opinions, a body of work that demonstrates an extraordinary judicial wisdom unsurpassed by any modern justice. So as the years go by, just as in the prior nine years, many justices on this court will think of him often and will think about how to continue his work and his ideas and his legacy. But the justices wont be the only ones who do so. As i stare out in this courtroom, there is an Extraordinary Community here of his law clerks, and i think i want to say a few words to you. Now, lets be frank. Justice stevens, more than most justices, did not need law clerks. [laughter] and indeed, in many years, he did not take his full complement. You could be an even bigger group than you are. But still, Justice Stevens served for 35 years so there are a lot of you here and ive had the great good fortune over my lifetime to get to know many of you, as colleagues, as friends, as coclerks in the 1987 term, more recently as students. Ive even had one of you clerk for me at the same time as she clerked for Justice Stevens and when ive talked with you over the years and in these last few days about Justice Stevens, you all say the same thing. You all say that he was the best boss you ever had. You all say that you learned the most from him, that you learned the most in that year that you spent with him than in any year before or since. And i think what you mean when you say that is, you know, for sure you learned about law and you learned about doing law well, but you also learned some other things. You learned how to lead a good and honorable life. You learned about treating people with dignity and with courtesy, and with respect, and with kindness. And you learned about the importance of putting all your legal talents and gifts to use in serving others. And as youve lived by those lessons, and as you passed them on to others after you, you perhaps do the most to honor Justice Stevens and to honor his legacy. Liz and susan, i know that this is an incredibly difficult and hard day for you and the rest of your family, for Justice Stevens friends, for his judicial family, but if ever there were a case where a funeral should become a celebration of a life welllived, this is that case. Justice stevens lived a long life. He lived a great and important and influential life, and he lived a life of integrity and kindness and decency and service. In my faith tradition, people say when someone has just passed away, people say, may his memory be a blessing, and i am sure of nothing more ever than i am in saying today that Justice Stevens memory will be a blessing. It will be a blessing in this court, which he served so well for so long. It will be a blessing in the lives of all the people whom he personally touched, and it will be a blessing in the wider world, which has been made far better for his efforts. If you would join me for a moment of silence in thinking about and praying for Justice Stevens. Thank you. Justice stevens, navy veteran, was buried tuesday at Arlington National cemetery following a private funeral. Heres a look at tuesdays Live Programming on the cspan networks. The house returns from what is inspected to be its final week of work before the august recess. They come in at noon for general speeches, 2 p. M. For work on a resolution supporting israel, and an air force funding bill. Coverage of the house is on cspan. 10 00. Ate comes in at permanentlyed bill extending the 9 11 Victim Compensation fund. Christopher wray testifies before the House Oversight committee. Also, House Intelligence Committee chair adam schiff talks about the Mueller Report in wednesdays hearings with the former special counsel at 2 00 eastern. At 5 00, House Veterans Affairs committee on protecting whistleblowers at the v. A. Robert mueller testifies to congress on wednesday about possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power by president trump, and russian interference in the 2016 president ial election. Live coverage starts at 8 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan3, online on cspan. Org, or listen wherever you are with the free cspan radio app. Before the hearing, listen to the complete Mueller Report on cspan. Org. Type mullet report audio in the search box at the top of the page. Courtesy of currentl timberlane media. Kagan. , remarks by elena she talks about her disagreement in the courts decision from the gerrymandering cases and the passing of retired Justice John Paul stevens. Georgetownsted at University Law center in washington, d. C. Under one hour. [applause] welcome, justice kagan. We are delighted to have you here