//end headline wrapper ?>Shirley Abrahamson. Jake Harper/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
“She belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Wisconsin Supreme Court justices,”
Joe Ehmann, who runs the appellate division of the State Public Defender’s office in Madison, says of the late Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice
Shirley Abrahamson, who passed away on Saturday.
“I think of her and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the same way,” he adds. “I am in awe of and grateful for what each achieved in their extraordinary lives and careers, and miss them both.”
Dean Strang, a prominent criminal defense attorney who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court places Abrahamson, along with two or three other judges nationwide, as “the leading U.S. state supreme court judge of the second half of the 20th century and the first two decades of this one.”
Wisconsin Examiner
Justice Shirley Abrahamson at an event celebrating her 50th year in the State Bar on September 6, 2006.
Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society
“She belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Wisconsin Supreme Court justices,” Joe Ehmann, who runs the appellate division of the State Public Defender’s office in Madison, says of the late Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who passed away on Saturday.
“I think of her and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the same way,” he adds. “I am in awe of and grateful for what each achieved in their extraordinary lives and careers, and miss them both.”
Dean Strang, a prominent criminal defense attorney who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court places Abrahamson, along with two or three other judges nationwide, as “the leading U.S. state supreme court judge of the second half of the 20th century and the first two decades of this one.”
Trailblazer , Role Model , Pillar : Remembering Shirley Abrahamson wtmj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wtmj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“I was saddened to learn today of the passing of a truly remarkable person and towering figure in American law, former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
“You didn’t have to know Chief Justice Abrahamson to know that she was brilliant, worked famously long hours in service to the people of Wisconsin, and was dedicated to fairness and justice. You just had to read her opinions.
“Through those hundreds and hundreds of opinions, Chief Justice Abrahamson shaped our understanding of the law for the better. Those opinions will have an impact for decades to come, as courts look to them for guidance and wisdom in resolving legal issues that have yet to arise.
Common Council President Cavalier Johnson December 21, 2020
I was saddened to hear the news that former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice
Shirley Abrahamson passed away over the weekend. My thoughts are with her friends and family during this difficult time.
Chief Justice Abrahamson had such a profound impact on the legal profession across the state, and there is no doubt her loss will be felt across that community. She broke many barriers in Wisconsin as a pillar of the highest court, including becoming the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, becoming the first female chief justice (a position she held for a record 19 years), and eventually she became the longest-serving member in the court’s history.