Hug a Judge
“If you want to take the law into your own hands, hug a judge.” -Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
Judiciary
Future of the Justice System
“The future of the justice system depends largely on the public’s continued confidence in the courts. When the courts truly serve the community, public trust in the justice system will grow.” -Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
Judiciary ‘Agency’
“[I]f you want to raise the hackles of judges, you call the judiciary an ‘agency.’ You just don’t do that. We are—and this becomes very important—a separate branch of government, a co-equal branch of government, maybe the smallest of the branches of government. Maybe that’s why when you start the ‘agency’ bit the judges take out their black robes, start to don’em, yell ‘separation of powers,’ ‘inherent authority,’ and ‘we’ll get you.’ That’s because we feel boxed in by this concept of agency.”
Proud and Silent Isolation
“The concept that legislators and judges don’t understand each other and don’t communicate is really quite an old one. Since judges are birds of justice who fly backwards, always looking at precedent, I figured I’d have to do something judge-like and quote Benjamin Cardozo, who in the 1920s said the legislature and the courts move in ‘proud and silent isolation.'”
Civil Rights grow beyond courts
“In 1961, the Constitution allowed wiretapping, school prayer, and illegally-seized evidence to be admitted in court. Women could be thrown in jail for having abortions and could be excused from jury duty because of what was seen as their pivotal place in the American home. None of the Constitution’s wording has changed since then, but we’ve seen a big change in interpretation. It’s inevitable, and not necessarily a bad thing.” -Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
Justice Participates in Jury Duty
“I vowed nine years ago not to get used to justice only from the perspective of the court. The view from the jury box could perhaps be the best view of all.” -Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
Too Much Litigation?
“There is a general consensus that there is too much litigation, yet many people do not have access to the judicial system, because they find it costly, cumbersome and slow. What is surprising is that we don’t have even more cases. Most grievances aren’t taken to court . . . There can never be ‘too much litigation’ when an entire class of people, the poor, or even the middle class, cannot afford to take their grievances to court.” – Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
Girl Justice
Asked by a second grader: “How does it feel to be a girl justice?”
“Fine. The boy justices treat me great.”
First woman justice
“I may be the first woman justice, but I’m clearly not the last.” – Attorney Shirley S. Abrahamson