---
title: "Stuart Rabner | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stuart-rabner-5122"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Stuart Rabner

Supreme Court of New Jersey · Chief Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of New Jersey
- State: New Jersey
- Role: Chief Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2007-present
- Stuart Jeff Rabner is the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, a position he has held since June 29, 2007
- Governor Jon Corzine nominated Rabner as Chief Justice in 2007, succeeding James R. Zazzali
- Law clerk to U.S. District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise
- Overhauled the state’s bail system through a comprehensive pretrial justice reform
- He 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

### Education

- J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1985
- Harvard University — J.D.

### Additional information

- Re‐nominated for tenure in 2014 by Governor Chris Christie and confirmed by the Senate.
- Rabner is the valedictorian of his Passaic High School class and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1982, with a senior thesis on the U.S. government’s treatment of Nazi war criminals.
- Born June 30, 1960, Passaic, New Jersey.
- Date of birth: 1960-01-01
- Rabner is recognized for a calm, measured, and consensus‐oriented leadership style, emphasizing rigorous analysis and fairness in judicial processes

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### media access and electronic devices

Scope: statewide

New Jersey statewide Supreme Court guidelines govern media access and electronic devices in courtrooms; recording, photography, broadcasting, and transmission require compliance with the published approval process and courtroom restrictions.

Evidence excerpt: Transmission, broadcasting, recording and/or photographing is prohibited at any proceeding closed by court order, statute, or Rule of Court.

[New Jersey Courts](https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/notices/2024/07/n240723a.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/supreme/about)
- [Official roster](https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/supreme/about)
- [Supreme Court of New Jersey current judicial profile](https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/supreme/about)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5122/stuart-rabner/)
- [New Jersey Courts](https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/notices/2024/07/n240723a.pdf)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5122/stuart-rabner/)
- [Stuart Rabner - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Stuart_Rabner)
- [Stuart Rabner - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Rabner)
- [Wikidata: Stuart Rabner](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7626985)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [New Jersey Courts](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-c9ef48d54ca091cafd206659) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/notices/2024/07/n240723a.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.