Rehnquist's final court session

WASHINGTON — William Rehnquist entered the Great Hall of the Supreme Court for the last time yesterday, carried in a flag-draped casket by a former administrative assistant and seven of his former law clerks into a columned corridor where the mighty and humble alike began paying respects.

The pallbearers included John Roberts, whom President Bush has nominated to succeed Rehnquist as chief justice. As they walked the wooden coffin up the 40 white marble steps that are more often the site of rallies on contentious issues before the court, members of the current court stood to receive the entourage.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had known Rehnquist since they were classmates at Stanford University's law school more than half a century ago, wiped away tears, as five of her colleagues — Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer — looked on with somber faces. A court spokesman said Justice David Souter was at home in New Hampshire and Justice Anthony Kennedy was in China; both were expected for today's funeral.

The casket lay on a black-draped platform, or catafalque, that was used for Abraham Lincoln's casket in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol 140 years ago and was lent for the occasion by Congress. A portrait of Rehnquist — in his black robe with five gold bars on the sleeves, made famous when he wore it to preside over President Clinton's impeachment trial — was placed on an easel nearby.

Outside, flags flew at half-staff as a steady procession of visitors waited for admittance through the court's massive bronze doors. The president and first lady Laura Bush arrived just before 4 p.m. and were escorted in through another, secured entrance. They stood before the coffin briefly, then walked over to view the portrait of Rehnquist.

Official Washington was joined throughout the day by tourists, teachers, bankers, ministers. Even when disagreeing with Rehnquist's unwaveringly conservative legal views, they said they greatly appreciated his consistency, his leadership, the brilliance of his reasoning.

"He served this country well for a very long time," said sociology professor Roger Nemeth of Holland, Mich.

"It's good to be reminded that one person can have an impact," said Vicki Crooks, who was visiting from Oregon to help her daughter settle into classes at George Washington University. "He was willing to stand by his convictions, whether or not the decision was controversial."

Rehnquist served on the Supreme Court for 33 years, the last 19 as chief justice. His children — James and Janet, both lawyers, and Nancy Spears, whom Rehnquist credited as an editor of his four books on history — were with him at his Arlington, Va., home when he died Saturday at age 80 after an almost yearlong battle with thyroid cancer.

In a prayer service at the court yesterday morning, some of the grandchildren sobbed and others cast their eyes down. The pallbearers — David Leitch, Frederick Lambert, Ronald Tenpas, James Duff, Kerri Martin Bartlett, Gregory Garre, John Englander and Roberts — and Rehnquist's other former clerks and staff members lining the Great Hall looked ashen.