A motion from new state Supreme Court justice: She praises her autistic son

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A motion from new state Supreme Court justice: She praises her

autistic son

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Helen Hoens takes heartfelt oath of office

Friday, December 01, 2006

BY KATE COSCARELLI

Star-Ledger Staff

On a day when the state's legal luminaries took turns praising her,

the newest justice of the state Supreme Court honored her son.

At her ceremonial swearing-in to the state's highest court yesterday,

Justice Helen Hoens said her autistic son, , is the one who

" taught me everything I really needed to know to become an associate

justice. "

Hoens then took the oath of office, administered by a choked-up Chief

Justice Zazzali, with her hand placed on her son's Bible as he

stood by her side before a crowd of about 200 people at the Masonic

Temple in Trenton. They were joined by her husband,

Schwaneberg, a reporter for The Star-Ledger.

Hoens, a 52-year-old Republican from Basking Ridge, joined the

Superior Court bench in 1994 and sat in Somerville. She was appointed

to the Appellate Division four years ago. She joined the high court

about a month ago, after the Senate unanimously approved her nomination.

Wayne Positan, president of the New Jersey State Bar Association and a

former law partner of Hoens, said the day was " another chapter of

excellence in her distinguished life. ... It is a great day not only

for Helen, it is a great day for the justice system, for the court and

for the people of New Jersey. "

Several speakers said Hoens is smart and passionate about the law, but

also stressed her compassion. Gibbons, the retired chief judge of

the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, said as a young law clerk for

him, Hoens showed she could look beyond legal arguments and see that

people were involved in every case.

" She will become a great justice, " Gibbons said.

In an emotional and personal speech, Hoens said she wanted to thank

her son even though he didn't understand what she was saying. She said

having an autistic son was not what she planned, that he will never be

independent or take care of her in her old age.

Hoens said is one of the people " who lives in the shadows of

life, " and to be his parent " is to live in the shadows yourself. " " But

it's not all bad because you learn things in the shadows, " she said.

" All around us are people who reach out and touch lives for the better. "

Saying most people spend their life " in a hurry, " Hoens encouraged

those in the audience, when they next encounter someone like her son,

to fight the urge to brush past and instead to stop and think and " dig

deep down into the reservoir of compassion and kindness. "

When she concluded her remarks, Hoens asked her son to stand at his

place in the audience. The crowd rose to its feet and gave them both a

standing ovation.