Shirley S. Abrahamson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, has been named the recipient of the first Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence, conferred by the American Judicature Society.

Abrahamson is an alumna of the UW Law School, having earned her S.J.D. at Wisconsin in 1962. She also taught for many years on the UW Law School faculty.

The Opperman Award honors a sitting state judge of a trial or appellate court who has had a career of distinguished judicial service. The award was presented to Abrahamson on September 29, 2004 in Madison.

Shirley Abrahamson began her judicial career in 1976,when she became the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She has spent the last 28 years on the court, the past eight as Chief Justice. She has been praised as a superb administrator, know for her superior intellect and work ethic, and for her efforts to make the court as efficient and accessible to the public as possible. She is respected nationally as a legal scholar, and is actively involved with public education, promoting outreach projects such as Court with Class, which brings high school students to attend oral arguments and have informal discussions with the Supreme Court justices.

Justice Abrahamson was born and raised in New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree at New York University, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She attended law school at Indiana University, graduating first in her class. She began her professional career in private law practice in Wisconsin, simultaneously teaching at the Law School.

Submitted by on September 29, 2004

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