ACS President Offers Condolences on Passing of Former Wisconsin Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2020

CONTACT: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

Washington, D.C.  – American Constitution Society President Russ Feingold released the following statement in response to the passing of former Wisconsin Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in state history and the first woman to serve on the high court.

“I mourn the passing of former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, one of the greatest lawyers and judges of the past 100 years. Very, very few people have done as much to benefit either the people of Wisconsin or the ideal of an impartial and independent judiciary as Justice Abrahamson. She was a trailblazer and inspiration for women, a role model for all lawyers and a truly great person.

No one better described Justice Abrahamson’s contributions than her friend and colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who said, “Among jurists I have encountered in the United States and abroad, Shirley Abrahamson is the very best, the most courageous and sage, the least self-regarding. In her 40 years and more on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court as justice, then chief justice, she has been ever mindful of the people, all of the people the law exists, or should exist, to serve.”

On a personal note, my father, Leon Feingold, was a great admirer of Shirley’s. He could not have been more delighted to support her being chosen as the first woman to ever serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

May her memory be a blessing.”

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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
ACS believes that the Constitution is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We interpret the Constitution based on its text and against the backdrop of history and lived experience. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, and many others, we work to uphold the Constitution in the 21st Century by ensuring that law is a force for protecting our democracy and the public interest and for improving people’s lives. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org or on Twitter @acslaw