Retired Justice Day dies at age 89

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When Shirley S. Abrahamson became chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1996, her predecessor expected it would be a long-term engagement.

After a dozen years, Abrahamson has not disappointed former Justice Roland B. Day, who died on July 26.

Day, who was 89, served on the high court for 22 years (1974-1996) and as chief justice for the final year of his tenure.

“When he became chief, he knew it would only be for a year, because he had no intention to run again,” Abrahamson said in an interview. “He wanted me to sit in on all of the administrative meetings because he viewed me as a long-term chief.”

Though she argued against Day as opposing counsel on a case in Madison in the 1970s, Abrahamson got to know him as a colleague after her appointment to the Supreme Court in 1976.

She praised his supportive nature and thorough approach from the bench, as well as his quick wit. Abrahamson said she spoke with Day recently while he was recuperating from a broken hip.

“He was in pain, but still his jovial wisecracking self,” said Abrahamson. “He told me he had heard a big crash and wondered what broke; then realized it was he who was broke.”

Attorney Jack R. DeWitt also remembers Day for his sense of humor and honesty.

DeWitt, a founding partner of DeWitt Ross & Stevens, S.C., in Madison first met Day when the two were working in the Dane County District Attorney’s Office in the early 1950s.

After a hitch in the Army during World War II, Day spent three years with the Dane County District Attorney’s Office before serving as legal counsel to Sen. William Proxmire in Washington, D.C. from 1957 to 1958.

Day then returned to Madison and worked in private practice until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1974. He was elected in 1976 and re-elected in 1986.

“Rollie was a deputy district attorney and I was appointed acting DA when I first met him,” said DeWitt, who last saw Day at a funeral earlier this year. “He was a bright capable guy, kind of opinionated, but someone who hated phonies.”