MADISON, Delete. (AP) – Shirley Abrahamson, the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court judge in the history of the state and the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, has passed away. She was 87.
Abrahamson, who also served as chief justice for 19 years, died Saturday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her son Dan Abrahamson told The Associated Press Sunday.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a statement that Abrahamson had a “ larger than life impact ” on the state’s legal professions and that her legacy is defined “ not just by being a first, but by her life’s work to make sure to keep them from being the last, paving the way and illuminating the many women and others who would come after her. “
Long recognized as a top national scientist and a leader among state judges, Abrahamson wrote more than 450 majority opinions and participated in more than 3,500 written decisions during her more than four decades before the highest court of Wisconsin. She retired in 2019 and moved to California to be closer to her family.
In 1993, then President Bill Clinton considered submitting her to the US Supreme Court, and she was later profiled in the book “Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia.”
She told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2006 that she enjoyed being on court.
“It has a mix of sitting, reading and writing and thinking, which I like to do. And it is quiet. On the other hand, all the problems I work on are real people’s problems, and it’s important to them, and it’s important to the state of Wisconsin. So that gives an edge, and stress, ”she said.
The New York City resident, with the accent to prove it, graduated first in her class from Indiana University Law School in 1956, three years after her marriage to Seymour Abrahamson. The couple moved to Madison and her husband, a world-renowned geneticist, joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961. He died in 2016.
She received a law degree from UW-Madison in 1962, then worked as a professor and joined a law firm in Madison hired by future governor Jim Doyle’s father.
Appointed to the state Supreme Court by the then Governor. Patrick Lucey in 1976, Abrahamson was reelected four times to ten years, starting in 1979. She broke the record of longest serving justice in 2013, her 36th year on court.
Abrahamson was in the majority when in 2005 the court allowed a boy to sue for lead burn injuries, even though he couldn’t prove which company made the product that made him sick – undoing decades of precedent and opening paint companies to lawsuits to claim damages.
But Abrahamson found herself outnumbered in several high-profile cases later in her career, including in 2011, when the court enforced the law defended by the then Republican government. Scott Walker effectively ended the rights of public workers’ unions, and again in 2015, when the court ended a politically charged investigation into Walker and conservative groups.
Abrahamson’s health started to deteriorate in 2018, and she regularly missed hearings. In May, she announced she would no longer run in 2019, and in August she revealed she has cancer.
Doyle, a former Wisconsin attorney general and governor of two office holders, called Abrahamson a pioneer and said he took her advice when he first ran for the Dane County district attorney in the 1970s. Doyle’s father, who was a federal judge, gave Abrahamson her first job after law school, Doyle said Sunday.
“She was just the warmest, funniest, sweetest girlfriend anyone could have,” said Doyle.
Doyle has credited Abrahamson for working to demystify the court by holding statewide hearings and meeting school groups and others to discuss his work.
In addition to breaking down barriers for women, Doyle has said that Abrahamson was a champion of civil and civil liberties, a protector of basic constitutional rights, and a strong supporter of open government and public records.
Dan Abrahamson, a California attorney, said his mother kept her work and home life separate.
“She was always there to eat,” he said. “She was always there with me for homework. … As a mother, she has given all the energy and attention to handling and all the care she has given in her professional life, including to her family. “
Abrahamson was not without her enemies, both on court and among Republican lawmakers who passed a constitutional change in 2015 that led to her ousting as Chief Justice. The amendment approved by the voter allowed members of the court to elect the chief justice – who oversees the constitutional justice system – rather than requiring the title to go to the highest court.
Abrahamson, who became chief in 1996, was quickly voted out by conservative judges who held a majority in the court when the new law went into effect in 2015. Justice Patience Roggensack has served as Chief Justice ever since.
Although she often clashed with more conservative members of the court and gained support from Liberals and Democrats, Abrahamson steadfastly insisted she was independent.
“When I got to the court, I got a vote – a vote I didn’t hesitate to use,” Abrahamson said in May 2018. “The best expression of appreciation I can give to the people who have elected and re-elected me repeatedly , is by continuing to speak with the clarity, sincerity, and compassion that come from a life that I have tried to dedicate to service and justice for all. ”