Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson said Monday she will stop trying to regain her former status as the court’s chief.
Abrahamson was stripped of her chief justice title in April after voters approved a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that allows justices to pick the court’s chief instead of relying on seniority.
Conservative-leaning members of the court removed the liberal-leaning Abrahamson after the election and named conservative-leaning Justice Patience Roggensack chief.
But Abrahamson contended the amendment was silent on when the switch could occur, and filed a federal lawsuit arguing she should be able to serve as chief justice until her term expired in 2019.
That lawsuit was dismissed in July, and Abrahamson appealed in September.
Roggensack did not return a phone call seeking comment.
“I continue to believe that we have a strong case,” said Abrahamson in a statement announcing she was dropping the appeal.
She said she would ordinarily “vigorously” pursue the case, but decided against doing so because the litigation could take years.
“A ruling in my favor and that of the other plaintiffs may be a hollow victory,” she said. “Briefs, argument, a written judicial decision, and further federal review could take a very long time. By that time my 10-year term will be close to ending.”
Abrahamson said she will not be “a timid voice” as she continues to serve on the state’s high court, and that she would remain “independent, impartial, and nonpartisan, and help the court system improve.”
Cullen Werwie, spokesman for the Department of Administration, said the agency did not yet have a “verified amount” of how much the state spent in legal costs related to the matter.
Abrahamson was removed as chief justice after years of conflict and public disagreements among the justices.
Her decision to drop the appeal also comes at a time of turnover on the court.
Justice Rebecca Bradley was tapped by Gov. Scott Walker in October to take N. Patrick Crooks’ seat on the bench to fill the rest of his 10-month term, after Crooks died in September at age 77.
Bradley, backed by Republicans, gives the court a clear conservative majority. Crooks was considered a swing vote.
Bradley had announced her candidacy for Crooks’ seat before he died and after he announced he would be retiring.
Next spring, Bradley will face Milwaukee County Judge Joe Donald and state appeals court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg to keep the seat.
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(12) comments
Shirely must have run out of other people's money. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
The Court is a hot mess. We need nonpartisan judges.
Old white guys never die ,
they just fade away and croak,
in some cases ...
not soon enough?, before these poor ,misbegotten "souls"
elect another shilly scheister,like Walker.
Time to reflect and deflect.,
and leave.
Shirley is an embarrassment.
Her tenure as chief justice was divisive and poitical. Her lawsuit was the same.
Hopefully she will now retire, so the Court can heal itself.
This post says a lot about your incapacity to think and evaluate people.
Greetings; What took so long to drop the lawsuit? Lord only knows.
Justice Abrahamson has more wisdom, integrity, intelligence, wit and humanity in the tip of her little finger than the WMC-supported justices combined. Her effectiveness was too threatening to those who had to pervert justice in order to get their way, so they had to cut her off at the knees any way they could. And the lack of integrity of those currently in power in this state allowed them to vilify one of the most admirable people ever to sit on the state Supreme Court. May their sleep be henceforth disturbed by their fecklessness and guilt.
Shirley - is that you??
Sounds like it's time for her to hang it up after embarrassing herself and bringing shame on the court. I mean let's be honest it doesn't really seem like she's all there at this point
And by your admission, you don't even live in the state of Wisconsin. Why don't you blog in Chicago and leave our state to the residents - felons and all.
I have homes in both states Richard although I Live in chi mostly. I also have other investment property up there so I think its safe to say i have skin in the game. I do follow and comment on all things political in the chicago trib as well. Calling out politicians from both sides when they dont have our best interests in mind is important. I dont belong to either party and would describe myself as extremely liberal on social policies and fairly conservative only on fiscal items. Try expanding your horizons to new thoughts because you can learn something from everyone by not just taking one side or another
Wow! So, are you just paid to post without knowing anything about state politics?
Anyone who follows the state supreme court and reads the decisions issued is more than aware of the quality of Justice Abrahamson's reasoning and juridical arguments. She is one of the most respected jurists in the nation and a Wisconsin treasure.
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