good afternoon. members of the stevens family, members of the court, members of the bar, and friends. this meeting of the bar, disapprove court of the united states has been called to honor the memory of john paul stevens. who served as it associate justice of the supreme court from 1975 to 2010. in addition to his time on the court, justice stephen served his country as a judge on the united states court of appeals for the seventh circuit, as counsel to the house judiciary committee, and as a code breaker in the u.s. navy during world war ii. over decades on the back edge, he dedicated his life to the rule of law and the judicial craft. he was a jurist who through this exercise independent judgment. guided by experience and the essential values underline the constitution and the american project. he was a person of integrity. blessed with the angular intellect, pragmatic temperament, humble nature, and generative soul. he was a devoted has been, father, grandfather, and