Rabner a good pick for N.J. high court
By Steven Clayton When Jon Corzine became New Jersey governor in 2006, I felt he made a good move in selecting Stuart Rabner to be his chief counsel. I admired that Rabner did not come from the political system, and would bring a fresh and unique perspective to the job. A year and half later, I still view Rabner, who later became state attorney general, in the same light. I enthusiastically support his move to the state Supreme Court as chief justice.
By Steven Clayton
When Jon Corzine became New Jersey governor in 2006, I felt he made a good move in selecting Stuart Rabner to be his chief counsel. I admired that Rabner did not come from the political system, and would bring a fresh and unique perspective to the job. A year and half later, I still view Rabner, who later became state attorney general, in the same light. I enthusiastically support his move to the state Supreme Court as chief justice.
The person who holds this leadership post must have the right temperament to lead the judiciary. Rabner, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard University Law School, has the desired traits. He has spent his adult life serving as a federal prosecutor with a focus on public corruption cases.
If there is anything that New Jersey needs now, it is someone who can focus on this issue, which has damaged the state's reputation. Rabner also has spent considerable time dealing with terrorism and drug issues. In the U.S Attorney's Office in Newark, he served as chief of the criminal division.
The New Jersey Supreme Court is going to face many important issues in the years ahead, whether it is defining what constitutes a marriage or dealing with educational and environmental issues. Having a leader who is not obligated to rule in favor of one ideology or another is quite refreshing.
Jessica Trounstine, a professor at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and an expert on the historical relationship between politics and patronage, told me this: "For the classic political machine, control over some or all parts of the justice system was integral to maintaining power in a city or a state. One of the ways that machines ensured their longevity was to guard their members against investigation and limit what the public knew about the internal workings of the machine system. Having prosecutors, district attorneys and judges beholden to the organization was often necessary to ensure that the machine protected its interests. An independent judiciary could be extremely damaging."
I couldn't agree with Professor Trounstine more, and that is why I think Rabner was a great pick for Corzine.