Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the Supreme Court of New Jersey to Deliver Villanova Law’s 2026 Commencement Address

Mark C. Alexander, The Arthur J. Kania Dean of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, announced that Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the Supreme Court of New Jersey will deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2026. He will also receive the Villanova Law Medallion Award in recognition of his achievements at this year’s commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 20.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner is the eighth chief justice to lead the New Jersey Supreme Court since the 1947 state constitution. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by Governor Jon S. Corzine and was sworn in on June 29, 2007. He was nominated for tenure by Governor Chris Christie and was sworn in on June 20, 2014.

Chief Justice Rabner was raised in Passaic, New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1982. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1985. He was a law clerk to US District Court Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise before joining the US Attorney's Office in Newark in 1986.

After beginning his career as an assistant US attorney, Chief Justice Rabner worked in several positions, including first assistant US attorney and chief of the terrorism unit. He was chief of the office's criminal division when he was named chief counsel to Governor Corzine in January 2006. He was named New Jersey attorney general in September 2006 and served until his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Rabner is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Judicial Administration at New York University School of Law, and a member of the Council of the American Law Institute. He served on the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices from 2010 to 2012.

Chief Justice Rabner and his wife, the former Deborah Wiener, have three children.