“Nobody knows what activist judge means when they say it, and for the listener it doesn’t have any meaning. When you say somebody’s an activist judge, what you’re really saying is I don’t like that particular opinion. I think the people who use it think it’s a slur and it will ultimately take on their connotation.” – Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
“I hope this election is not going to be about aerobics. I have been introduced across the state as Shirley ‘The Body’ Abrahamson.” -Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
“This campaign has been one of false charges and retracting. If my opponent retreats much farther, he’ll be in Michigan, I’m faced with a candidate who will say anything and do anything to get elected. He is a repeat offender.” -Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
“When someone tells me women don’t stand much of a chance of winning an election, I’ve got some statistics for them. According to my own personal survey, about half the men who run for public office lose. Surely women can do at least that well.”