Rabner talks constitution, foreclosures

In his remarks, Rabner, who was appointed to the court in 2007, discussed the history of New Jersey’s constitution as well as the large increase in finance-related cases that have come before him.

Since New Jersey’s founding, the state’s constitution has developed from “a system that would appear in a Dickens novel” to one that was emulated by Hawaii and Alaska when those states developed their own constitutions, he said.

The New Jersey constitution from 1947, which is still in effect today, gives substantial power to the governor, though it does provide important powers to the judiciary as well, Rabner said.

For instance, it allows the courts to be innovative in some of its decisions, he explained.

Since Rabner’s appointment in 2007, the court has struggled with processing an influx of mortgage foreclosure cases. Litigators file roughly 5,000 cases of this type every month, and the number of mortgage cases has tripled in the last few years, Rabner said.

To remedy this problem, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that all foreclosure cases must enter mandatory mediation before going to court, so homeowners have an opportunity to renegotiate their loans and stay in their homes.

Since the ruling, Rabner said that agreements were made in 1,000 of the 5,200 cases that underwent mediation, easing the burden on the courts.

After his opening remarks, Rabner discussed the increase in lawsuits with Provost Christopher Eisgruber ’83.

Eisgruber cited an anecdote about a woman who won a lawsuit after spilling hot coffee on herself and asked Rabner whether there is a “litigation crisis” in the court system today.

Rabner said he did not believe that a cultural shift toward frivolous lawsuits was the source of the “explosion in litigation” he had discussed, but instead blamed mortgage foreclosure and credit card debt cases for filling dockets.

In ruling on the large number of cases that come before the New Jersey Supreme Court, Rabner said that deliberation among justices remains very cordial. Justices are not allowed to interrupt each other during their discussions of cases, and justices who interrupt a colleague’s five-minute opening remarks must pay a fine into a lunch-money fund.

Looking forward, Rabner also said he hopes that the court will better integrate technology into its operations. The court has begun to modernize some practices — occasionally holding video conferences, for instance — but lawyers and justices should be able to submit more documents electronically from home, he noted.

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Students in attendance spoke highly of Rabner.

Sarah Solon GS, who is a earning a law degree at Georgetown University as well a master’s degree at the Wilson School, praised his judicial style.

“He is an incredibly reflective and thoughtful person who has really thought of the best ways to make the judiciary responsive and responsible,” she said.

Kameron Knab ’12 said he was most intrigued when Rabner mentioned the differences between state and federal courts.

“It’s amazing how similar amendments between the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions can produce different interpretations and conclusions,” he said.