Cassandra Van Gompel – Candidate for Sheboygan County Circuit Court Branch 5 Judge
WHBL News conducted interviews with candidates for the two open positions for Circuit Court Judge in Sheboygan County.
Branch 2 Incumbent Judge Kent Hoffmann is retiring at the end of his term, and his successor will be either Attorney James Haasch or Municipal Court Judge Natasha Torry.
Branch 5 Judge Daniel Borowski is not seeking reelection, and so his seat is contested between Attorney George Limbeck and Attorney Cassandra Van Gompel.
Today we are featuring interviews with the two candidates for Sheboygan County Circuit Court Branch 5, Attorneys Cassandra Van Gompel and George Limbeck. Stories featuring Attorney James Haasch and Municipal Court Judge Natasha Torry in the Branch 2 race were published on Monday.
Our first interview in today’s series was with Cassandra Van Gompel.
Cassandra Van Gompel: “Sheboygan Focused, Community Solutions”
Cassandra Van Gompel is a local attorney-manager for the State Public Defender’s Office who says she’s willing to take some risks and try new things in order to improve the court system.
Van Gompel graduated cum laude from Marquette University Law School with certificates in Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. She completed internships with the Seventh Circuit Court of appeals, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the West Allis City Attorney’s Office and the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office – Milwaukee Juvenile and Mental Health Office. She worked in the Sheboygan County Public Defender’s Office for five years before being promoted to managing an office of seven attorneys, an investigator and three court staff.
When Van Gompel was asked what of her experience in the Public Defender’s Office qualified her for the position of Circuit Court Judge, she cited the fact that some of the most difficult cases run through that office, which she says has to “do the most with the least”, working with those who are least able to afford legal counsel. Her department is funded by the Wisconsin State Legislature while trying to determine how best to represent their clients. She said that the Circuit Court is not that different given a limited budget and the need to determine how best to allocate available resources. She added that her experience in the Public Defender’s Office, needing to listen to all sides and manage the cases, is good preparation to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.
We asked Van Gompel if her experience as a “defender” detracts from her ability to serve the prosecution’s side. She responded: “It most certainly does not.” She said that her internships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other court offices gave her ample experience, allowing her to understand all sides of the issue.
Van Gompel is running against Attorney George Limbeck, and we asked her what sets her apart from her opponent. She responded by saying: “I think that my high ethical standards, and also my commitment to the law…I have been interested in the law since I was about 14 years old, I got involved in a program called ‘Youth in Government’ and wrote my first brief through that program. I then became a volunteer paralegal, I did mock trial…this has been a longtime passion of mine and it’s something that I’m currently doing. I understand that my opponent has said that he volunteers in the community, but really just not the length of time that I have.”
After listing several other involvements, Van Gompel added that “Also, I have no ethical violations, I really do uphold the standard of the law and I think that that’s most important for a judge to be able to do on the bench, because this is a difficult job, and you cannot fold under pressure.”
(Van Gompel’s opponent, George Limbeck, was given a public reprimand by the Office of Lawyer Regulation, an agency of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in 2007 for having erroneously advised a client of his sentencing based upon potential conviction in two counties, and of failing to adequately prepare for the client’s sentencing hearing. Limbeck had also been previously been privately reprimanded in connection with another criminal defense matter – see the accompanying story for Limbeck’s response)
While Van Gompel allowed that those matters do not disqualify her opponent, the nature of the violations should inform the voters who are deciding where their votes belong.
Judgeships are non-partisan by definition, however Liberal vs Conservative arguments overshadow judicial campaigns. When asked if she considered herself falling on either side, Van Gompel said “Not in the judicial sense.” She said that while everyone has their opinions, she said that when it comes to decisions as a judge, “If it’s not fair and just for all, then it’s fair and just for none.”
The State Supreme Court appoints a Chief Judge for the Judicial Administrative District, and when asked if she had ambitions for that post, Van Gompel said that “If asked…I would certainly do so.” She said that she’s always considered herself as a civil servant, but added there are lots of qualified judges who deserve consideration before her.
As for the issues that weigh most heavily on the Circuit Court system now, Van Gompel cited access to attorneys as the main one. She said that an attorney can address many issues that come before the court and help resolve issues before courts intervene. Van Gompel said that she’s focused on bringing more attorneys to the area, has supervised interns, and would like to continue that role as a judge, meeting with Marquette Law School (her alma mater), the U.W. Law School and other institutions to attract more attorneys to Sheboygan.
In Van Gompel’s experience, it’s not easy to attract legal practitioners to Sheboygan, which doesn’t hold the prestige status other locations do when compared to the major college environments like Madison and Milwaukee. Personally, she says, she loves the Sheboygan Area and the people who are interested in improving their communities.
Van Gompel believes there are ways to increase efficiency in the court system that can relieve pressure on the D.A.’s office, noting how Green Lake County has instituted status reports that make it clearer to all parties what the status of cases are.
Considering whether it’s important that cases avoid possible appeal, Van Gompel agreed that it is, mainly because if it doesn’t go to appeal, it means that the Judge followed the law. But mosts importantly it’s not whether a case goes to appeal, but rather that it’s not won upon appeal.
When asked why she deserves the vote, Van Gompel replied that “I’m the best candidate for Sheboygan County Circuit Court Judge because I care about the law and this community. I have dedicated my life to helping people in this community and also to volunteering in this community. I think that as your Sheboygan County Circuit Court Judge I will make sure that everyone is treated fairly and listened to, and I will do my best to uphold the law.”
