Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has died after suffering a heart attack, the court announced on Thursday. He was 87 years old.

“All of us here at the Ninth Circuit are shocked and deeply saddened by Judge Reinhardt's death. We have lost a great friend and colleague,” Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Thomas said in a statement.

“As a judge, he was deeply principled, fiercely passionate about the law and fearless in his decisions,” Thomas added. “He will be remembered as one of the giants of the federal bench. He had a great life that ended much too soon.”

Reinhardt, whose chambers were in Los Angeles, was the sixth-longest serving judge on the Ninth Circuit appeals court. He served on the bench 37 years after being nominated in 1979 by then President Jimmy Carter.

Reinhardt was a prolific feeder judge to the U.S. Supreme Court, with many of his clerks going on to take clerkships at the high court. He also presided over a number of high profile cases, including one challenging California's ban on gay marriage, and declined to take senior status despite being eligible so that he could continue to take part in the en banc review process.

His death also opens up another vacancy on the Ninth Circuit, which already had five openings after the departure of Judge Alex Kozinski last year. Judge N. Randy Smith has also announced that he will be taking senior status next year, opening up yet another spot to fill for President Donald Trump on the nation's largest federal appellate court.