Jay Rabinowitz
Encyclopedia
Jay Andrew Rabinowitz was an American
lawyer
, jurist
, and Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
four non-consecutive terms (1972–1975, 1978–1981, 1984–1987, 1990–1992) remaining active as a justice from February 1965 to February 1997.
to a Jewish-American family. His paternal grandfather had emigrated from Riga
, Latvia
to Woodbine, New Jersey
at age fourteen, leaving his own family behind. Jay Rabinowitz grew up in Brooklyn
, New York
where his father, Milton, a 1922 graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
, worked as a bookkeeper for a wholesale fish
distributor during the Great Depression
. Although a Syracuse and Harvard Law School graduate, the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School connection would prove pivotal for Jay in his role as mentor to many, including the lifelong intensive mentoring of his young cousin 50 years his junior. He would ultimately encourage the younger Rabinowitz to attend Wharton. His nephew took his advice, graduated with honors, worked for Goldman Sachs
and became business media commentator, Seth Rabinowitz, creating one of the elder Rabinowitz's proudest personal achievements.
Jay served in the U.S. Army Air Forces near the end of World War II
. During his service overseas Rabinowitz happened to meet his great-uncle Chaim, whom he'd never before met, in a displaced persons camp in Germany. Chaim was the family's only relative in Europe who had survived the Holocaust. Following some careful forgery of paperwork, Chaim was able to join his relatives in Brooklyn after the war ended.
After returning home, Jay Rabinowitz attended Syracuse University
, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1949.
He graduated from Harvard Law School
in 1952 and was admitted to the New York State Bar Association
the same year. After practicing law in New York City
for five years, Rabinowitz moved to Fairbanks, Alaska
, accepting a position as law clerk to U.S. Territorial Court Judge Vernon Forbes in 1957. Later that year, he met and married Anne Nesbit. The couple remained together until Rabinowitz's death in 2001.
In 1958, Rabinowitz was admitted to the Alaska Bar Association and clerked for the United States District Court
in Fairbanks
. He was appointed Superior Court Judge in Fairbanks in 1960.
justice on March 4, 1965. Rabinowitz remained on the state Supreme Court until February 28, 1997, having reached the mandated retirement age of 70 for judges in Alaska, during which time he served four non-consecutive three-year terms as Chief Justice
. (The Alaska Constitution
prohibits consecutive terms as Chief Supreme Court Justice.)
During his time on the bench, Rabinowitz wrote more than 1,200 court opinions, 200 of them dissenting. He was a strong and articulate voice for safeguarding the civil liberties of Alaskans. He wrote landmark opinions in cases involving privacy, reproductive freedom, search and seizure, self-incrimination, and free speech. He was particularly sensitive to the ways in which the law affected the legal rights of Alaska Natives and authored several noteworthy judicial opinions that respected Native traditions in areas of family rights and adoption, education, and law enforcement.
Rabinowitz's law clerks included Stephan Williams, Michelle Stone, Mark Regan, Becky Snow, Susan Burke, Mark Ashburn, Peter Mozarski and Andrew Kleinfeld, now a judge of Ninth Circuit.
Beginning in 1971, Rabinowitz also served on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
, where he headed three drafting committees and served on numerous others.
and skiing
throughout his life, taking up long-distance running in middle age. He and his wife, Anne, had four children: Judy, a lawyer practicing in California; Mara, a public defender in Alaska; Max, an oncologist practicing in Alaska; and Sarah, a social worker residing in Alaska. His brother is Robert Rabinowitz (artist)
, creator of Beatlemania (musical)
; his cousins include media contributor, Seth Rabinowitz, and Barrie Cassileth, (Barrie Rabinowitz) a world-recognized figure in complementary and integrative oncology.
in a Seattle hospital. In remembrance of him, Governor Tony Knowles
ordered Alaska state flags
to be lowered to half-staff
for five days. Said Knowles,
The Rabinowitz Courthouse
in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska
is named after him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, and Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
Alaska Supreme Court
The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court in the State of Alaska's judicial department . The supreme court is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices, who are all appointed by the governor of Alaska and face judicial retention elections and who choose one of their own...
four non-consecutive terms (1972–1975, 1978–1981, 1984–1987, 1990–1992) remaining active as a justice from February 1965 to February 1997.
Early life and career
Rabinowitz was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to a Jewish-American family. His paternal grandfather had emigrated from Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
to Woodbine, New Jersey
Woodbine, New Jersey
Woodbine is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 2,716....
at age fourteen, leaving his own family behind. Jay Rabinowitz grew up in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where his father, Milton, a 1922 graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
, worked as a bookkeeper for a wholesale fish
Fish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
distributor during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Although a Syracuse and Harvard Law School graduate, the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School connection would prove pivotal for Jay in his role as mentor to many, including the lifelong intensive mentoring of his young cousin 50 years his junior. He would ultimately encourage the younger Rabinowitz to attend Wharton. His nephew took his advice, graduated with honors, worked for Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and became business media commentator, Seth Rabinowitz, creating one of the elder Rabinowitz's proudest personal achievements.
Jay served in the U.S. Army Air Forces near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During his service overseas Rabinowitz happened to meet his great-uncle Chaim, whom he'd never before met, in a displaced persons camp in Germany. Chaim was the family's only relative in Europe who had survived the Holocaust. Following some careful forgery of paperwork, Chaim was able to join his relatives in Brooklyn after the war ended.
After returning home, Jay Rabinowitz attended Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1949.
He graduated from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1952 and was admitted to the New York State Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association , with 77,000 members, is the largest voluntary bar association in the United States.-History:The State Bar was founded with a constitution that dates to 1877...
the same year. After practicing law in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for five years, Rabinowitz moved to Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, accepting a position as law clerk to U.S. Territorial Court Judge Vernon Forbes in 1957. Later that year, he met and married Anne Nesbit. The couple remained together until Rabinowitz's death in 2001.
In 1958, Rabinowitz was admitted to the Alaska Bar Association and clerked for the United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
in Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
. He was appointed Superior Court Judge in Fairbanks in 1960.
Alaska Supreme Court
Following his appointment by Governor Bill Egan, Rabinowitz was sworn in as an Alaska Supreme CourtAlaska Supreme Court
The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court in the State of Alaska's judicial department . The supreme court is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices, who are all appointed by the governor of Alaska and face judicial retention elections and who choose one of their own...
justice on March 4, 1965. Rabinowitz remained on the state Supreme Court until February 28, 1997, having reached the mandated retirement age of 70 for judges in Alaska, during which time he served four non-consecutive three-year terms as Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
. (The Alaska Constitution
Alaska Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alaska is the constitution of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was ratified in 1956 and took effect with Alaska's admission as a state on January 3, 1959.-The statehood movement:...
prohibits consecutive terms as Chief Supreme Court Justice.)
During his time on the bench, Rabinowitz wrote more than 1,200 court opinions, 200 of them dissenting. He was a strong and articulate voice for safeguarding the civil liberties of Alaskans. He wrote landmark opinions in cases involving privacy, reproductive freedom, search and seizure, self-incrimination, and free speech. He was particularly sensitive to the ways in which the law affected the legal rights of Alaska Natives and authored several noteworthy judicial opinions that respected Native traditions in areas of family rights and adoption, education, and law enforcement.
Rabinowitz's law clerks included Stephan Williams, Michelle Stone, Mark Regan, Becky Snow, Susan Burke, Mark Ashburn, Peter Mozarski and Andrew Kleinfeld, now a judge of Ninth Circuit.
Beginning in 1971, Rabinowitz also served on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is a non-profit, unincorporated association commonly referred to as the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. It consists of commissioners appointed by each state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States...
, where he headed three drafting committees and served on numerous others.
Personal life
Rabinowitz was a competitive athlete, and pursued both tennisTennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
throughout his life, taking up long-distance running in middle age. He and his wife, Anne, had four children: Judy, a lawyer practicing in California; Mara, a public defender in Alaska; Max, an oncologist practicing in Alaska; and Sarah, a social worker residing in Alaska. His brother is Robert Rabinowitz (artist)
Robert Rabinowitz (artist)
Robert Rabinowitz Robert Rabinowitz Robert Rabinowitz (b. Brooklyn, New York, American illustrator and graphic designer. In 1975 created Beatlemania, the largest multimedia musical up to that time on Broadway, on which he worked with Bob Gill. With his family, Rabinowitz owns Villa Rosa Bonheur in...
, creator of Beatlemania (musical)
Beatlemania (musical)
Beatlemania was a Broadway musical revue focused on the music of The Beatles as it related to the events and changing attitudes of the tumultuous Sixties...
; his cousins include media contributor, Seth Rabinowitz, and Barrie Cassileth, (Barrie Rabinowitz) a world-recognized figure in complementary and integrative oncology.
Death and legacy
Rabinowitz died June 16, 2001 at the age of 74 from complications of leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in a Seattle hospital. In remembrance of him, Governor Tony Knowles
Tony Knowles (politician)
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American Democratic politician and businessman who served as the seventh Governor of Alaska from December 1994 to December 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2004 and again for governor in...
ordered Alaska state flags
Flag of Alaska
The flag of the state of Alaska consists of eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a dark blue field.The Big Dipper is an asterism in the constellation Ursa Major which symbolizes a bear, an animal indigenous to Alaska...
to be lowered to half-staff
Half-staff
Half-staff is the American term for to describe a flag flying a flag below the summit of the flagpole . The rest of the English-speaking world uses the term half-mast. Technically the flag should be flown one breadth lower to allow for the invisible flag of death...
for five days. Said Knowles,
"Jay Rabinowitz devoted his life to the law.... He began his career when Alaska was a young state. His steady, thoughtful manner resulted in a body of law that will have a lasting impact on Alaska as we know it. I personally sought his guidance and input on a number of critical issues facing our state. I will miss his sense of humor and his integrity. Jay's legacy will not be forgotten."
The Rabinowitz Courthouse
Rabinowitz Courthouse
Rabinowitz Courthouse is a courthouse in Fairbanks, Alaska named after former Chief Justice Jay Rabinowitz, situated adjacent to the Chena River. It was designed by the firm, Charles Bettisworth & Compnay in collaboration with McCool Green Architects. The edifice incorporates Alaska art in a...
in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
is named after him.