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Rebecca Persick
Sheboygan County Circuit Court
Tenure
Present officeholder
Term ends
2021
Education
Rebecca Persick is a judge of the Sheboygan County Circuit Court in Wisconsin. She was elected to the court in April 2015, effective August 1, 2015. Her term will expire in 2021.[1]
Education
Persick received a B.A. in history from Lawrence University and a J.D. from Chicago Kent College of Law in 1994.[2]
Career
Persick was the court commissioner for the Sheboygan County Circuit Court from 2003 to 2015.[3]
Awards and associations
- 2014-Present: Member, American Association of University Women, Sheboygan Branch
- 2014-Present: Member, Pretrial Risk Assessment Committee
- 2013-Present: Member, Sheboygan County United Way Campaign Ad Hoc Committee
- 2012-Present: Member, Judicial Education Committee
- 2010-Present: Volunteer, WisLAP (Lawyers Assistance Program)
- 2013-2014: President, Sheboygan County Bar Association
- 2012-2013: Vice-president, Sheboygan County Bar Association
- 2012-2013: Volunteer, Courts Connecting with Communities[2]
Elections
2015
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2015
[1][4][5]
Candidate survey
Prior to the 2015 general election, Ballotpedia sent out a survey to all contested judicial candidates in Wisconsin. The following are verbatim responses from Rebecca Persick.
Click "show" to reveal responses.
| What is your legal experience, and how would it aid you to serve as a judge? |
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I have been an attorney for over 20 years. I have spent my entire legal career working full-time in Sheboygan County. For the first five years of my career, I worked for the Law Offices of Barry Cohen specializing in criminal law. I then worked as the Assistant Corporation Counsel for Sheboygan County from 1998 to 2003. In that position, I represented the County in mental commitment, guardianship and protective placement cases, and the State of Wisconsin in child support enforcement cases. I litigated many jury trials in those two positions and gained valuable trial experience. I also filed multiple appeals in various cases. My appellate cases honed my legal research and writing ability, and also made me cognizant of the need for a judge to clearly explain the basis for his or her decisions. For the last 11 years, I have worked as the circuit court commissioner— appointed by the circuit court judges to preside over some of their caseload. During that time I have presided over thousands of criminal, family, civil, mental health, and other types of circuit court cases. Consequently, I have broad experience both litigating cases as an attorney and presiding over cases as a commissioner. I have had the opportunity to appear before, and learn from, many excellent judges. As a court commissioner, I have extensive experience making difficult decisions that greatly impact people's lives and explaining those decisions to the litigants who appear before me.
Although there is no perfect training ground to become a circuit court judge, being a court commissioner is as close an experience to being a circuit court judge as exists. I believe that experience, as well as my previous experience litigating cases, give me an excellent foundation to be a circuit court judge.[6]
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| What do you believe is the most important quality in a judge? |
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Beyond experience, I think the most important quality in a judge is temperament. Most of my caseload, as well as the caseload of the circuit court judges, involves people in crisis for various reasons. I pride myself on treating people respectfully regardless of why they are appearing before me, on remaining calm even when litigants and attorneys do not, and on being able make difficult decisions, as well as explain the basis for my decisions, to the parties involved.
The judge sets the tone of a hearing. The cases heard in circuit court are very emotional for those involved. However, a judge needs to respond out of reason and base his or her decisions solely on applicable law. It is important for a judge to remember that he or she is a public servant and give all cases the utmost attention. Consequently, a judge must listen to and understand both sides of a dispute and explain decisions in an even-tempered and well-reasoned way. Decisions should never be made in haste or out of anger, nor handed down in a condescending or patronizing manner. As I have made decisions over the last 11 years, I have consistently displayed an even temperament, sound decision-making, and a commitment to justice.[6]
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| Why should voters choose you over your opponent? |
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I am the only candidate with proven judicial experience in circuit court. As indicated above, I have worked as a full-time circuit court commissioner for over a decade. The circuit court judges have appointed me to preside over thousands of criminal, family, civil, and mental health cases. My opponent is a part-time municipal court judge. Municipal court judges preside over non-criminal citations such as traffic tickets. Those types of cases only make up a small fraction of a circuit court judge’s caseload. Unlike municipal court judges, circuit court judges and commissioners have the tremendous responsibility to protect citizens from criminals and help families and children in crisis navigate through difficult separations. I have done just that full-time for the last 11 years.
Moreover, approximately one half of a circuit court judge’s caseload consists of criminal cases. My opponent has very little criminal law experience. I spent 5 years specializing in criminal law before I became a commissioner and have presided over thousands of criminal cases since becoming a commissioner.
My endorsements speak to the strength of my qualifications. Attorneys and law enforcement officers who know both my opponent and me overwhelmingly support me. My peers have also recognized me as a leader in the legal community. I was named a 2015 "Leader in the Law" by the Wisconsin Law Journal and am the immediate past president of the Sheboygan County Bar Association.[6]
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| Were there any specific cases, role models or mentors, that inspired you to work in law? |
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I was drawn to the law from a young age. Although I can't point to one specific case that motivated me to become an attorney, I have always been particularly interested in cases involving child welfare. As a parent myself, my first priority is to keep children and families safe.[6]
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Rebecca Persick Sheboygan County Court. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered 2015 Spring Election," January 8, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rebecca Persick for Judge, "About," accessed January 14, 2015
- ↑ WHBL.com, "Rebecca Persick to run for Bourke's judge seat," November 26, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2015 Spring Primary and Senate District 20 Primary Results"
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2015 Spring Election Results"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
Catherine Quirk Delahunt 
