1979 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

none April 2025 April 2025 1979 Wisconsin Supreme Court election Wisconsin presidential No 1978 Wisconsin Supreme Court election 1978 1980 Wisconsin Supreme Court election 1980 April 3, 1979 Shirley Abrahamson, early Wisconsin Supreme Court justice portrait (3x4 crop).jpg Shirley Abrahamson c0c0c0 547,003 65.13% Howard H. Boyle (1965 Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate) portrait photograph.jpg Howard H. Boyle Jr. c0c0c0 292,919 34.87% File:1979 Wisconsin Supreme Court election results.svg 250px Abrahamson: #51C2C2 50–60% #2AACAC 60–70% #009696 70–80% #008080 80–90%Boyle: #FF9A50 50–60% Justice Shirley Abrahamson Shirley Abrahamson 1974 Wisconsin Supreme Court election 1974 1989 Wisconsin Supreme Court election 1989 The 1979 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on April 3, 1979, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Incumbent justice Shirley Abrahamson (who had been appointed to fill a vacancy) won the election, defeating Howard H. Boyle Jr. Background On August 6, 1976, Governor Patrick Lucey appointed Shirley Abrahamson to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Horace W. Wilkie. https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/supreme/justices/retired/abrahamson.htm Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson Wisconsin Court System December 20, 2020 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65723838/abrahamson-named-justice/ Woman justice is a lawyer first Wisconsin State Journal August 7, 1976 19 Patricia Simms December 20, 2020 Newspapers.com The Constitution of Wisconsin stipulates that early elections full terms can be triggered by a vacancy. The constitution stipulates that it is impermissible for more than one seat to be up for election in the same year. Elections must be moved to an earlier year after a vacancy, but only if there is a more immediate year without a scheduled contest.Wisconsin Question 2, Unified Court System Amendment (April 1977) https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_Question_2,_Unified_Court_System_Amendment_(April_1977) Ballotpedia 27 March 2025 en All supreme court elections are held during the spring elections in early April.Portraits of Justice https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/supreme/docs/portraitsofjustice.pdf Wisconsin Courts Wisconsin Historical Society Press 27 March 2025 IX, X, and 59 2003 Since there were was no supreme court election scheduled in 1979, but there were elections scheduled in 1977 and 1978, the vacancy moved the election to the next possible date, 1979. This allowed Wilkie's successor to serve as justice for two years before they would be up for election. Ahead of the election, the court had 3 conservatives, 3 liberals, and 1 swing vote. Abrahamson was a member of the court's liberal wing.Pommer Matt Callow Tops Landry for Supreme Court https://www.newspapers.com/image/519291984 Newspapers.com subscription The Capital Times April 16, 2026 2 April 6, 1977 Candidates Shirley Abrahamson, incumbent justice (appointed) Howard H. Boyle Jr., attorney; unsuccessful candidate for Supreme Court in 1964 and 1965; unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate in 1956 and 1957Multiple sources: Koehler Michael Baseball, Apple Pie and Judicial Elections: An Analysis of the 1967 Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Marquette Law Review January 1, 2001 85 1 223 https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol85/iss1/8/ July 4, 2025 A Question of Judicial Ethics https://www.newspapers.com/image/287570745 Newspapers.com subscription The Post-Crescent July 4, 2025 en March 15, 1964 Boyle Second High In Vote For Justice Hanley Daniel P. United Press International 1, 7 Tri-County Citizen en March 11, 1964 Boyle Second High In Vote For Justice https://www.newspapers.com/image/1053269021 1 Hanley Daniel P. United Press International Newspapers.com subscription Tri-County Citizen July 4, 2025 en March 11, 1964 Boyle Second https://www.newspapers.com/image/1053269493 7 Hanley Daniel P. United Press International Newspapers.com subscription Tri-County Citizen July 4, 2025 en March 11, 1964 Results 1979 Wisconsin Supreme Court election http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1979 The state of Wisconsin 1979-1980 Blue Book 1979 State of Wisconsin Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Madison, Wisconsin Theobald H. Rupert Robbins Patricia V. http://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1979/reference/wi.wibluebk1979.i0016.pdf Elections 884 December 20, 2020 | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 3, 1979 Nonpartisan politician Shirley Abrahamson (incumbent) 547,003 65.13 Nonpartisan politician Howard H. Boyle Jr. 292,919 34.87 254,084 30.25 839,922 100 References Category:Wisconsin Supreme Court elections Supreme Court Wisconsin