Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Thursday, April 10, 2008
Winona judge finalists announced
Two attorneys who cut their legal teeth in the Winona County attorney’s office are competing with each other and a Rochester, Minn., attorney for a judge vacancy that will be open in May in Winona County.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Assistant Winona County Attorney Nancy Bostrack, former Assistant Winona County Attorney Lisa Swenson and Daniel Heuel, a civil trial lawyer from Rochester, are the three finalists Wednesday.
Chosen from a field of 15, the three applicants will interview with the governor, said Judicial Appointments Coordinator John Hultquist. However, the interviews won’t take place until after the legislative session ends May 19, he said.
Judge Margaret Shaw Johnson retires May 25, which means her seat could remain empty for up to two months, depending on how quickly the new judge is appointed, prepared and sworn in, Hultquist said. He said a new judge typically needs three or four weeks to prepare, but once sworn in, he or she could begin hearing cases the same day.
The new judge’s term will be guaranteed until the November 2010 elections, Hultquist said.
Finalists for another judge vacancy in the 3rd Judicial District were also announced. The seat will open in Freeborn County when Judge James E. Broberg retires April 29. Those finalists are Assistant Freeborn County attorneys Karyn D. McBride and David J. Walker and Albert Lea City Attorney Steven R. Schwab.
Nancy Bostrack
Bostrack earned her law degree from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul in 1991. By June 1992, she began work in the Winona County attorney’s office, where she has been the past 16 years.
Starting with child support and paternity cases, Bostrack eventually shifted into criminal prosecution. She now handles felony cases as assistant Winona County attorney.
Honored and excited to have been selected as a finalist, Bostrack said she wants to be a judge because she enjoys working in the courtroom and would enjoy the challenge of working as a judge.
On the financial crisis facing Minnesota courts, Bostrack said it was a serious issue that has already begun being addressed, but in the future there will “definitely be some changes.”
When not in the courtroom, the 41-year-old mother of two enjoys running and biking. Before her twin sons were born, she even climbed Mount Rainier in Washington and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.
Daniel J. Heuel
A Saint Mary’s University undergraduate in 1974, Heuel got his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1978. For the past 30 years, he’s worked with several private firms in Rochester. He is currently working as a trial lawyer at the O’Brien and Wolf Law Firm taking cases regarding personal injury, employment law, civil rights violations and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Once a finalist to replace retiring Judge Lawrence T. Collins in 2005, Heuel said it was “humbling” and an honor to be selected as a finalist this time around. Working in law for the past 30 years, he said he felt like he had an obligation to give back to the community. The only bench he wants to sit on is in Winona County, he said.
Heuel said tackling the current financial crisis isn’t necessarily his job as a judge, but because of staff and service cuts, the right and access to courts is diminishing. “It disturbs me a great deal,” he said.
Although he used to be active in sailing, motorcycling and amateur baseball, the 55-year-old said those activities have taken a backseat to the horse farm he runs with his wife of 30 years near Byron, Minn.
Lisa R. Swenson
With a law degree from the University of Nebraska in 1988, Swenson later held the post of assistant Winona County attorney from 1995 to 2003, where she handled juvenile and sexual abuse cases. She then became a senior assistant Olmsted County attorney, which she left for a private practice in March. She’s currently a family law and personal injury attorney with George F. Restovich & Associates in Rochester.
Even though she has since moved on to a private practice, Swenson said, she still considers herself a public servant because of the past 13 years of her career. As such, she said she would like to become a judge, “one of the highest forms of public service.”
Swenson said the current financial crisis is a “reality” that is “probably not going to get any better.” She applauded the Winona County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and its efforts to come up with resolutions to budget problems.
Swenson, 41, said she loves to spend time camping and being outside with her family, which includes four sons ages 3 to 8.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or kbehr@ winonadailynews.com.
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