Stuart Rabner

Stuart Rabner
Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
Assumed office
June 29, 2007
Appointed by Jon Corzine
Preceded by James Zazzali
56th Attorney General of New Jersey
In office
September 26, 2006  June 29, 2007
Governor Jon Corzine
Preceded by Anne Milgram (Acting)
Succeeded by Anne Milgram
Personal details
Born (1960-06-30) June 30, 1960
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Deborah Wiener
Alma mater Princeton University
Harvard University
Religion Judaism[1]

Stuart Jeff Rabner (born June 30, 1960) is the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has previously served as New Jersey Attorney General, Chief Counsel to Governor Jon Corzine, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

Biography

Rabner grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1982 and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1985.[2] He is a resident of Caldwell.[3][4] He was married in 1989 to Dr. Deborah Ann Wiener,[5] and has three children: Erica, Carly, & Jack.[6] In June 2007, he was named the No. 1 most influential political personality in the state of New Jersey.[7] In 2010, his name was proposed as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Associate Justice John Paul Stevens.[8]

Appointment as Chief Justice

On June 4, 2007, Governor Corzine nominated Rabner to be the next Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, replacing James R. Zazzali, who was nearing the mandatory retirement age.[9]

Shortly after the nomination, two members of the New Jersey Senate from Essex County, where Rabner resides, blocked consideration of his confirmation by invoking "senatorial courtesy", a Senate tradition that allows home county legislators to intercede to prevent consideration of a nominee from the counties they represent. State Senator Ronald Rice had initially blocked the nomination, but relented on June 15, 2007, after a meeting with the governor.[10] Senator Nia Gill dropped her block on June 19, 2007, but did not initially explain the nature of concerns. (Anonymous lawmakers cited in The New York Times indicated that the objection was due to Rabner's race and Governor Jon Corzine's failure to consider a minority candidate for the post.)[11]

With the Senators permitting consideration of his nomination, Rabner was quickly approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Gill casting the only negative vote. On June 21, 2007, the New Jersey Senate confirmed Rabner as Chief Justice by a vote of 36–1, with Gill again casting the lone dissenting vote.[12]

Rabner was sworn in as Chief Justice on June 29, 2007, with Acting Chief Justice Virginia Long administering the oath of office.[13] On May 21, 2014, Governor Chris Christie renominated Rabner as Chief Justice despite their political differences, after a compromise was reached with State Senate Democrats, breaking a longstanding impasse over Supreme Court appointments.[14] The Senate Judiciary Committee confined the nomination on June 14, 2014.[15]

Attorney general

Rabner served as Attorney General of New Jersey in the cabinet of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. He took office as attorney general on September 26, 2006.[16] Rabner was nominated by Governor Corzine on August 24, 2006, to replace former Attorney General Zulima Farber who resigned and left office on August 31, 2006.[17] On September 25, 2006, Rabner was confirmed by a 35–0 margin by the New Jersey Senate.[18]

Other positions

After beginning his career as an assistant U.S. attorney, Chief Justice Rabner worked in a number of positions including first assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the terrorism unit in the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He was chief of the office's criminal division, focusing on public corruption issues, and supervising 100 attorneys and staff, when he was named chief counsel to Governor Corzine in January 2006.[6] He was viewed as a surprise choice for the chief counsel position, as it traditionally goes to individuals with strong political connections and not to career prosecutors.[19] Rabner began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Dickinson Richards Debevoise of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey before joining the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey in Newark in 1986.

Decisions

In 2011, Chief Justice Rabner authored a landmark decision on eyewitness identification evidence in State v. Henderson.[20][21] The ruling questioned the longstanding test for admitting eyewitness identifications at trial. Henderson outlined a new standard under the New Jersey Constitution in light of more recent, accepted social science evidence on the risks of misidentification. The following year, the NJ Supreme Court released expanded model jury instructions on eyewitness identifications for use in criminal cases, [22] [23] consistent with the Henderson decision.[24][25]

In 2013, Chief Justice Rabner broke new legal ground in a decision about the right to privacy in the location of one’s cell phone.[26][27] [28] The opinion in State v. Earls marked the first time a state Supreme Court found a right of privacy in cell-phone location information. In light of recent advances in technology, the Earls decision noted that cell-phone providers in 2013 can pinpoint the location of a person’s cell phone with increasing accuracy. That information can provide an intimate picture of one’s daily life and reveal not only where people go – which doctors, religious services, and stores they visit – but also the people and groups they choose to affiliate with. The opinion held that, under the State Constitution, cell-phone users are reasonably entitled to expect confidentiality in the location of their cell phones. As a result, to obtain cell-phone location information, police must obtain a search warrant based on a showing of probable cause or qualify for an exception to the warrant requirement, such as exigent circumstances.

Also in 2013, Chief Justice Rabner authored a unanimous decision denying the State’s application for a stay of a trial court order permitting same-sex couples to marry. Garden State Equality v. Dow [29] The ruling was the first by a State Supreme Court in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor. Windsor struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and held that DOMA violated the federal constitution by denying lawfully married same-sex couples the benefits given to married couples of the opposite sex. In the wake of that decision, a number of federal agencies extended federal benefits to married same-sex couples but not to partners in civil unions. [30] Under New Jersey state law, same-sex couples could enter into civil unions but could not marry. As a result, the New Jersey Supreme Court concluded that the State Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection for same-sex couples was not being met; that the harm to same-sex couples was real, not speculative; and that the public interest did not favor a stay. [31] [32] Three days after the ruling, same-sex couples began to marry, and the State withdrew its appeal of the trial court order, effectively ending the litigation.[33]

2013–14 Term

2012–13 Term

2011–12 Term

2010–11 Term

2009–10 Term

2008–09 Term

2007–08 Term

See also

References

  1. Jones, Richard G. "Rivalries Hobble Resolution of New Jersey Budget Standoff", The New York Times, July 1, 2006. Accessed December 17, 2007. "Little progress is expected Saturday because three principal players in the negotiations  the state treasurer, Brad Abelow; the governor's chief counsel, Stuart Rabner; and Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer, a member of the budget committee  observe the Jewish Sabbath and will not resume taking part in talks until Saturday night."
  2. Stuart Rabner: State Attorney General, State of New Jersey. Accessed September 20, 2007. "Rabner grew up in Passaic and was graduated summa cum laude in 1982 from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University."
  3. Corzine Nominates Stuart Rabner to Serve as Attorney General, press release dated August 24, 2006.
  4. Governor Chris Christie Files Nominations-Press Releases-Office of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie(June 3, 2014)
  5. Dr. Wiener Wed To Stuart Rabner, The New York Times, July 3, 1989.
  6. 1 2 CORZINE NAMES RABNER CHIEF COUNSEL, press release dated December 14, 2005.
  7. PoliticsNJ.com Power List 2007, dated June 20, 2007.
  8. Emily Bazelon & Dahlia Lithwick, Who Should Replace Justice Stevens?, "Slate," (April 10, 2010).
  9. "Source: Corzine picks Rabner as chief justice, Milgram as AG", Courier News, May 31, 2007. Accessed May 31, 2007.
  10. Associated Press. "Opposition Ebbs on Corzine Judge", The New York Times, June 15, 2007. Accessed June 20, 2007. "Ronald L. Rice, an Essex County Democrat and state senator, said yesterday that he would no longer block Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s nomination for chief justice of the State Supreme Court."
  11. Jones, Richard G. "Senator Drops Objections to Corzine Court Nominee", The New York Times, June 20, 2007. Accessed June 20, 2007. "Senator Gill had delayed Mr. Rabner’s confirmation hearing by using “senatorial courtesy”  an obscure practice through which senators who represent the home county of nominees may block consideration of their confirmations."
  12. Jones, Richard G. "After One Objection, Senate Confirms Corzine’s Choice for Chief Justice", The New York Times, June 22, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2007. "The Senate voted 36 to 1 to confirm Stuart Rabner, who has been attorney general since September 2006 and was Mr. Corzine’s chief counsel before that. It also confirmed Anne Milgram, Mr. Rabner’s first assistant, to succeed Mr. Rabner as attorney general.... A short time later, she was the only one of 40 senators to vote against Mr. Rabner."
  13. chief Justice Stuart Rabner, New Jersey Supreme Court. Accessed August 11, 2007.
  14. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140522_Christie_to_renominate_Rabner_to_state_Supreme_Court.html
  15. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/06/nj_senate_panel_confirms_rabners_re-nomination_to_supreme_court.html#incart_related_stories
  16. New Jersey Attorney General biography, version from Internet Archive copied as of April 2, 2007. Accessed December 17, 2007.
  17. Corzine names Rabner attorney general The Courier-Post, August 24, 2006.
  18. Rabner confirmed as attorney general, The Courier-Post, September 26, 2006.
  19. Straight-laced, quick-witted and caring, The Record (Bergen County), December 17, 2005.
  20. Weiser, Benjamin "In New Jersey, Sweeping Shift on Witness Identifications", The New York Times, August 25, 2011. Accessed June 17, 2012.
  21. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/opinion/what-did-eyewitnesses-really-see.html "What Did They Really See? New Jersey's Strict New Rules on Eyewitness Evidence Could Become the National Standard", The New York Times, August 27, 2011. Accessed June 17, 2012.
  22. http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/charges/idinct.pdf
  23. http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/charges/idoutct.pdf
  24. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/judges-must-warn-new-jersey-jurors-about-eyewitnesses-reliability.html
  25. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/nj_supreme_court_imposing_swee.html
  26. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/police_need_warrants_to_track_cell-phone_data_nj_supreme_court_rules.html
  27. http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2013/07/in_new_jersey_a_win_for_privac.html
  28. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/19/nyregion/new-jersey-supreme-court-restricts-police-searches-of-phone-data.html
  29. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/supreme_court_refuses_to_block_same-sex_marriage_first_wedding_expected_monday.html
  30. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf slip op. at 15-16
  31. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/read_excerpts_from_the_same-sex_marriage_decision_by_the_nj_supreme_court.html
  32. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/nyregion/same-sex-marriages-in-new-jersey-can-begin-court-rules.html
  33. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/christie_withdraws_appeal_of_gay_marriage_ruling.html

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by
Anne Milgram
Acting
Attorney General of New Jersey
2006–2007
Succeeded by
Anne Milgram
Preceded by
James Zazzali
Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
2007–present
Incumbent
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