Sowinski invested as circuit court judge

Mary M. Sowinski was formally invested Friday as the first women elected to serve as a circuit court judge in Oneida County. While the milestone was certainly noteworthy, Sowinski stressed that her judicial investiture ceremony was a celebration of the community that nurtured her.

“I want to start by saying out loud, here and now, that today is not a day for personal recognition and congratulations as much as it is a community celebration,” she said, addressing the large crowd of well-wishers who watched her take the oath of office and don her robe.

A former Oneida County assistant district attorney, Sowinski was elected in April to succeed Branch II Judge Michael Bloom who retired at the end of July after 12 years on the bench.

Local attorney Mary Roth Burns was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to serve as a circuit judge in Branch I last year, following the retirement of Judge Patrick F. O’Melia, but she was defeated in the spring 2023 election by former Oneida County district attorney Michael Schiek.

In her remarks, Sowinski noted her family’s history in the community and the foundation they and their cohorts built.

“Four generations ago, my ancestors settled here and stayed to help build a community they could be proud of, that their children and grandchildren could call home,” she said. “They and their neighbors, in faith and in hope, not only invested in schools and hospitals, they built this building (the Oneida County Courthouse) dedicated to the proposition that disputes could be resolved without violence, laws would be enforced, and justice and mercy could and would coexist. I sit before you today as the beneficiary and servant of this community.”

She went on to note that she grew up in a community — Sugar Camp — where “strong women like my mother, who served on the school board for many, many years, and (others) advocated for girls to have equal facilities and equal opportunities.”

“More generally, I was born to parents and within communities who could and would devote themselves to the raising of responsible children with expectations for my behavior and for my future,” she added. “These communities include teachers like Mr. Brody, who taught us very early and very clearly that America means having the freedom to swing our arms out as far as we would and we could, so long as our fists never struck our neighbor’s nose.”

The new judge also offered thanks to numerous individuals, from fellow judges to court staff, who she said provided invaluable assistance and guidance over the last few months as she transitioned from prosecutor to judge.

“This is a court system that deserves the very best the people in this building have to offer, and I see every day that we try to do that,” she concluded. “Sometimes that will mean challenging the status quo. Sometimes that will mean having hard conversations and making decisions that people don’t like. But I say to everyone here and everyone in this community who has tried to do their best to make it better, congratulations, because you are the focus of today’s celebration. This is a special place in no small part because of the dedication and commitment of the people in this room and others like it. I am honored to be just a very small part of it.”

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].