Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson became the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Wednesday, according to a statement from the court.
The official statement from Tom Sheehan, the court’s chief information officer, attributes the calculation that Abrahamson is the longest-serving justice to Joseph A. Ranney, a Madison attorney and legal historian.
Abrahamson became the first woman on the state Supreme Court when she was appointed in 1976. Three years after being appointed to fill a void on the court, she successfully ran for reelection in 1979. She has served as chief justice since 1996 after winning consecutive reelections to the court every 10 years after 1979.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Abrahamson worked in Madison for 14 years. She practiced law with a private firm and also served as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
She is a member of the liberal-leaning minority on the current court and will be up for re-election in 2019.
