18 Facts About Shirley Abrahamson

Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson was the 25th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Shirley Abrahamson became the court's first female chief justice on August 1,1996, and served in that capacity until April 29,2015.

Shirley Abrahamson graduated from New York's Hunter College High School and in 1953 received her bachelor's degree from New York University.

Shirley Abrahamson continued her education at Indiana University Law School, earning her JD in 1956 with high distinction and graduating first in her class.

In Madison, Shirley Abrahamson joined the University of Wisconsin faculty as a lecturer in constitutional law and political science, and worked as a research assistant at the law school.

Shirley Abrahamson practiced law at the firm for the next 14 years and continued teaching at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Shirley Abrahamson was the next most senior member of the court.

Shirley Abrahamson authored more than 450 majority opinions and participated in more than 3,500 written decisions of the court.

Shirley Abrahamson was involved in deciding more than 10,000 petitions for review, bypasses, certifications and lawyer and judicial discipline cases.

Shirley Abrahamson has been president of the Conference of Chief Justices and chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts and has served on the Board of Visitors of several law schools.

Shirley Abrahamson served as a member of the United States National Academies Committee on Science, Technology and Law, and was chair of the National Institute of Justice Committee on the Future of DNA Evidence.

In 1997 Shirley Abrahamson was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1998 she was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, two scholarly societies in the United States.

Shirley Abrahamson was a member of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Shirley Abrahamson has received the Margaret Brent Award from the American Bar Association.

Shirley Abrahamson has received numerous other awards and 15 honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the US She is featured in Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia, The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and The Lawdragon 500 Leading Judges in America.

Shirley 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.

On May 30,2018, Shirley Abrahamson announced she would not seek reelection to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2019.

Shirley Abrahamson died of pancreatic cancer on December 19,2020.