Shirley Abrahamson

Shirley Abrahamson
25th Chief Justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court
In office August 1, 1996 – April 29, 2015
Preceded by	Roland B. Day
Succeeded by	Patience D. Roggensack
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office September 7, 1976 – August 1, 2019
Appointed by	Patrick Lucey
Preceded by	Horace W. Wilkie
Succeeded by	Brian Hagedorn
Personal details
Born	Shirley Schlanger (1933-12-17)December 17, 1933 New York City,U.S.
Died	December 19, 2020(2020-12-19)(aged 87) Berkeley, California,U.S.
Spouse	Seymour Abrahamson ​ ​ (m.1953⁠–⁠2016)​
Children	1
Education	New York University(BA) Indiana University, Bloomington(JD) University of Wisconsin, Madison(LLM,SJD)

Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson(December 17, 1933 – December 19, 2020) was the 25th chief justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court.An American lawyer and jurist, she was appointed to the court in 1976 byGovernorPatrick Lucey,becoming the firstfemale justiceto serve onWisconsin's highest court. She became the court's first female chief justice on August 1, 1996, and served in that capacity until April 29, 2015. In all, she served on the court for 43 years (1976–2019), making her the longest-servingjusticein the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Early life and career

Abrahamson was born Shirley Schlanger inNew York City,the daughter ofPolishJewishimmigrants,Leo and Ceil (Sauerteig) Schlanger.She graduated from New York'sHunter College High Schooland in 1953 received herbachelor's degreefromNew York University.She continued her education atIndiana University Law School,earning herJ.D.in 1956 with high distinction and graduating first in her class.At Indiana, she met her husband, Seymour Abrahamson, and moved with him toMadison, Wisconsin,for his post-doctoral work in zoology.

In Madison, Abrahamson joined theUniversity of Wisconsinfaculty as a lecturer in constitutional law and political science, and worked as a research assistant at the law school.She continued her education at theUniversity of Wisconsin Law Schooland earned aS.J.D.in American legal history in 1962, writing her doctoral thesis on the legal history of Wisconsin's dairy industry.

Also in 1962, at age 28, Abrahamson became the first female lawyer hired by the Madison law firmLa Follette,Sinykin,Doyle& Anderson. Within a year, she was named apartnerin the law firm.She practiced law at the firm (later known as La Follette, Sinykin, Anderson & Abrahamson) for the next 14 years and continued teaching at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Judicial career

On August 6, 1976, GovernorPatrick Luceyappointed Abrahamson to theWisconsin Supreme Court,filling the vacancy caused by the death of justiceHorace W. Wilkie.On September 7, she was sworn in as the first woman to serve onWisconsin's highest court.Lucey said he hoped her appointment would encourage more women to become involved in law and government, adding, "It is appalling that currently there are no women serving on any level in the state judicial system."Abrahamson was elected to a full term on the court in 1979, with 65% of the vote.She was reelected in 1989, 1999, and 2009—one of the few Wisconsin judges to face an opponent in each of her elections.

Under theWisconsin constitution,from 1889 until 2015, the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court was determined byseniority—the longest-serving member of the court would become the chief justice until death or retirement. In 1994, longtime chief justiceNathan Heffernanannounced he would retire at the end of his term, set to expire July 31, 1995.His successor by seniority was JusticeRoland B. Day,who, at age 76, was also planning to retire at the end of his current term, ending July 31, 1996.Abrahamson was the next most senior member of the court. On his ascension to chief justice, Day told Abrahamson, "I'm going to be chief for a year. You're going to be chief for a long time."On August 1, 1996, Abrahamson became the Wisconsin Supreme Court's first femalechief justice.True to Day's prediction, she became the second longest-serving chief justice in Wisconsin history.

Abrahamson authored more than 450majority opinionsand participated in more than 3,500 written decisions of the court. She was involved in deciding more than 10,000petitions for review,bypasses,certificationsand lawyer andjudicial disciplinecases.

Abrahamson was a member of the Council of theAmerican Law Instituteand served on the board of directors of the Dwight D. Opperman Institute of Judicial Administration atNew York University School of Law.She has been president of theConference of Chief Justicesand chair of the Board of Directors of theNational Center for State Courtsand has served on the Board of Visitors of several law schools. She served as a member of theUnited States National AcademiesCommittee on Science, Technology and Law, and was chair of the National Institute of Justice Committee on the Future of DNA Evidence.

In 1997 Abrahamson was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,and in 1998 she was elected a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society,two scholarly societies in the United States. She was a member of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2004 she was awarded the first annual Dwight Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence by theAmerican Judicature Society.She has received the Margaret Brent Award from theAmerican Bar Association.

Abrahamson has received numerous other awards and 15 honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the U.S. She is featured inGreat (Top 100) American Judges: An Encyclopedia(2003),The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America(2005), andThe Lawdragon 500 Leading Judges in America(2006).

Chief Justice amendment controversy

In the April 2015 spring election, voters narrowly approved an amendment to the Wisconsin constitution that changed the way that the chief justice of the Supreme Court was selected. Since 1889, the justice with the most seniority held the position, but the amendment allowed court members to choose the chief. According to Abrahamson's opinion in the 2002 caseState v. Gonzalez,"[U]nless a constitutional amendment provides otherwise, it takes effect upon the certification of a statewide canvass of the votes." Thus on April 29, 2015, the same day theWisconsin Government Accountability Boardcertified the vote canvass, the conservative majority on the court electedPatience D. Roggensackas the new chief justice.

Abrahamson filed a federal lawsuit challenging the immediate implementation of the constitutional amendment, contending that she should remain chief justice until the expiration of her term in 2019. Her lawsuit was heard on May 15, 2015. Five of the seven justices asked the federal judge to dismiss Abrahamson's lawsuit.That day, the federal court denied Abrahamson's request for immediate reinstatement as chief justice. U.S. District JudgeJames D. Petersondetermined there was no harm in Roggensack serving as chief justice while Abrahamson's lawsuit continued.Abrahamson appealed that decision to theU.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals,but dropped the lawsuit on November 10, deciding that no matter what happened in her lawsuit, her term would be close to ending by the time the litigation finally ended.

Retirement

On May 30, 2018, Abrahamson announced she would not seek reelection to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2019.She left office July 31, 2019, having served for 43 years—the longest term in the Court's history.She was the only woman on the high court from 1976 until 1993; in her final three years, the court had a 5–2 female majority.

Personal life

Shirley Schlanger took the last name Abrahamson when she married Seymour Abrahamson in August 1953. Seymour was a professor of zoology and a world-renownedgeneticist.They had one son, Daniel, who followed his mother into the legal profession. The Abrahamsons had been married nearly 63 years at the time of Seymour's death fromcancerin July 2016.

In August 2018, Justice Abrahamson announced she had been diagnosed withcancer.Following her retirement, she moved toBerkeley, California,to be closer to her son and his family and went intohospicecare in 2020. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,she was mostly only able to interact with her family through a window or viavideo call,but was able to see her son in person shortly before her death. She died ofpancreatic canceron December 19, 2020.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1979)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1979

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 3, 1979
	Nonpartisan	Shirley S. Abrahamson (incumbent)	547,003	65.13%
	Nonpartisan	Howard H. Boyle Jr.	292,919	34.87%
Plurality			254,084	30.25%
Total votes			839,922	100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1989)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1989

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 4, 1989
	Nonpartisan	Shirley S. Abrahamson (incumbent)	485,169	54.97%
	Nonpartisan	Ralph Adam Fine	397,378	45.03%
Plurality			87,791	9.95%
Total votes			882,547	100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1999)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1999

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 6, 1999
	Nonpartisan	Shirley S. Abrahamson (incumbent)	481,281	63.41%
	Nonpartisan	Sharren B. Rose	276,584	36.44%
		Scattering	1,100	0.14%
Plurality			204,697	26.97%
Total votes			758,965	100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (2009)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 2009

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 7, 2009
	Nonpartisan	Shirley S. Abrahamson (incumbent)	473,712	59.67%
	Nonpartisan	Randy R. Koschnick	319,706	40.27%
		Scattering	446	0.06%
Plurality			154,006	19.40%
Total votes			793,864	100.0%

See also

• List of female state supreme court justices

External links

• Justice Shirley S. Abrahamsonat Wisconsin Court System
• ProfileatVote Smart
• Shirley AbrahamsonatBallotpedia