After 43 years as a justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court – almost half as chief justice – Shirley Abrahamson is retiring. In July, she ends her fourth, 10-year term on the state’s highest court, capping a career as the longest-serving justice in state history.
“I will miss everything about being here, and I will miss it soon,” Justice Abrahamson said in an interview in late 2018 in her chambers at the State Capitol. “I am not going to run again for a 10-year term at age 85, although I could. And I’d make it, too.”
Abrahamson is a monumental figure in Wisconsin’s judiciary, heading it as chief justice from 1996 to 2015. She was the first woman on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, appointed by Gov. Patrick Lucey in 1976 before her first election in 1979.
The New York native, who made Wisconsin her home, is also revered around the country. Colleagues, including those at the highest levels of the judiciary, understand the important body of work that Justice Abrahamson has contributed to American law.
“Among jurists, Shirley Abrahamson ranks with the very best, the brightest and most caring, the least self-regarding,” said Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. “She never forgets that law exists to serve all the people composing society, not just those in privileged positions.”
“Wisconsin was fortunate to have her steady hand at the helm of its Judiciary,” Justice Ginsburg wrote in a statement. “During her long tenure, she has inspired legions of law graduates to follow in her wake – to pursue justice, equal and accessible to all.”
This article cannot fully capture the deep impact and major accomplishments that Justice Abrahamson achieved in her storied 43-year career as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, including 19 years as chief justice. But it attempts to scratch the surface.