Longtime Long Island judge Ira Raab dies at 89

When lawyers would settle a case in Ira Raab’s courtroom, he’d allow them to take a piece of candy from a bowl. He saw it as a means of encouraging two sides to avoid adjournments and the hurdles that can slow cases to a crawl, said his son, Michael Raab.

“My dad was a peacemaker,” said Michael, of Florida. “He wanted to cut through the garbage and get right to the point and resolve things.”

Ira Raab, a prominent Long Island judge known for his efficiency in the courtroom, died Friday after complications from a fall at his home in West Palm Beach, Florida, his son said. He was 89.

“Justice Raab was a dedicated jurist who was widely known and respected for his tireless efforts to settle disputes,” Nassau County Administrative Judge Vito DeStefano said in a statement. “He will be sorely missed.”

Raab was born in New York City in 1935 and grew up on the Lower East Side. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1955 and Brooklyn Law School in 1957 before being admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1958, according to his National Arbitration and Mediation resume.

He was elected as a Nassau County District Court judge in 1996 and assumed office in 1997 before serving as the presiding judge of the district court in 2000. He was then elected as a state Supreme Court judge and began in that role in 2001, his resume said.

Raab was hailed for his ability to get litigants to settle their differences before trial.

In the summer of 2002, Administrative Judge Edward G. McCabe dumped more than 300 personal injury cases involving Allstate Insurance Co. on Raab’s desk. In less than two months, more than 70% of the cases were settled, Newsday reported at the time.

‘An all-around lawyer’

Steven Weinstein, 64, an attorney who studied under Raab, called him “an all-around lawyer.”

“Ira did it all,” said Weinstein, who has a private Manhattan practice. “He would go to work on a compensation case, and then he would go to a criminal case, and he would go to a landlord-tenant case.”

Raab's ability to utilize novel approaches — like having lawyers hop on telephone calls to schedule future conferences and even settle cases before entering the courtroom — saved the court time, cut down on a case backlog, and helped clients avoid hefty legal fees.

“My dad was probably the most efficient judge that sat,” his son said. “He brought parties together.”

Raab, who had lived in Hewlett, “was passionate about helping people,” said Jay Jacobs, the state and Nassau County Democratic chairman. “Even in the rough-and-tumble of politics, he was always a gentleman.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he knew Raab “as a man of integrity, honor and fairness.”

“All Nassau County residents should remember his shining example,” he said.

Raab was a dedicated and active Democrat and an officer of the American Judges Association, according to his son.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2003 considered removing Raab from the bench for taking part in political activity and for raising threats against an attorney.

The commission, however, decided that Raab should be censured because he appeared “sincerely remorseful for his offensive utterances towards the attorney and for his political improprieties,” read a commission report issued in August 2003.

Raab appealed the decision and lost, Newsday reported. 

Michael Raab said his father was “a family man” and was “tremendously supportive” throughout his life.

Ira and his wife, Gloria, both grew up on the Lower East Side. However, the two crossed paths years later in a Long Beach courthouse when she received a ticket for walking her dog. The two were married for 35 years and she survives him. He was previously married to Regina English for 18 years, his son said. 

In addition to his wife and son, Raab is survived by his daughter, Shelley English, of New York; his stepchildren, from Florida and New York: Jennifer Basner, Joseph Carrara, Julia Carrara, Jill Adwar, Jonathan Adwar and Todd Adwar; and 18 grandchildren. 

The funeral will be held Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at Gutterman’s Rockville Centre Chapel. Burial will be at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ