Unlike so many young parents, Gillson wanted to support his girlfriend and child, offering to get a job, support his new family, and get married. During the very public debate, the number of Ozaukee County residents who supported the continued prosecution of Gillson were small in number and quiet in voice.

Yet, Williams showed little regret for bringing the Gillson case to trial, despite the massive public backlash. "Does it mean that because he said he’s sorry, we’re supposed to close our eyes to it?" Williams told a local newspaper in 1997. In the end, Williams did not recommend jail time in the case, and Gillson eventually received two years of probation.

But the controversial case prompted former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson to sign the "Kevin Gillson bill," which allowed judges to apply discretion as to whether the names of teenagers should be added to Wisconsin’s sex offender registry. Thompson was prompted to agree to the exception by Republican State Sen. Alberta Darling, who helped to write Wisconsin’s original sex offender legislation. At the time of the controversy, Darling told a local newspaper that the sex offender registry wasn’t intended to punish people like Gillson. Fortunately for the defendant, an Ozaukee County Circuit Court judge agreed, leaving Gillson’s name off Wisconsin’s registry.

It’s not often that a district attorney finds herself to the judicial right of conservative Republican politicians on law enforcement issues. Living alone on such an authoritarian island requires both a lapse of common sense, and a hard-line interpretation of law that doesn’t leave much room for nuanced judgment or analysis.

A few months ago, Williams raised new questions about her hard-line stance, when she chose to bring five charges of fourth-degree sexual assault against a 14-year-old boy who engaged in numerous incidents of inappropriate touching of girls at Steffen Middle School in Mequon. The boy, who was 12 and 13 years old at the time of the incidents, was accused of grabbing one girl’s buttocks and unhooking another’s bra strap. For his role in the incidents, the boy was suspended by the school, visited with a therapist, and was sent away to a wilderness camp for troubled teens by his own parents.

But these treatments and punishments were not enough for Williams, who threw enough charges at the teen to potentially incarcerate the boy for up to nine months for each accusation, not to mention the possibility that the boy would end up listed on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry.

The boy’s father told a local newspaper he was in "total shock" upon hearing about the charges, and refused to negotiate a plea bargain with Williams. The Mequon man became the latest in a list of parents confused by Williams’ decisions. In fact, his comments seemed to echo those made by Gillson’s mother 11 years earlier. "I just don't trust the system anymore," Sue Gillson told a local newspaper in 1997.

As district attorney, Williams’ actions too often have raised eyebrows both inside and outside Ozaukee County. Candidates for circuit court judge should have a long history of creating consistency and trust in the judicial system, not raising questions and confusion through a perceived lack of common sense within the system.

Williams’ campaign Web site boasts, "As your district attorney, she has ensured that people are treated fairly while consistently guarding the safety of our community."

But despite 25 years of experience as district attorney, Williams seems to be inconsistent in applying community standards and a common-sense, "fair" interpretation of the law, especially in teen sexual assault cases. The letter of the law and the spirit of the law are two obviously different things. Judges are human beings, with an inherent ability to rationalize beyond legal words on paper. This debate isn’t about whether or not judges should "legislate from the bench," but rather whether judges’ decisions should reflect the opinion of the majority of the community, even if that decision flies in the face of the standing legal language in certain rare situations.

Williams’ opponent, Darcy McManus, Ozaukee County Court Commissioner for the past 15 years, seems to take a more mainstream approach to interpreting the law.

"I have proven over the past 15 years that I have the temperament to listen carefully to everyone who appears in my court and the good judgment and common sense to make the best decision possible in each case," McManus told a local newspaper. When she came to my door last week, McManus assured me that she would consider all factors when evaluating whether to charge a teenager in cases such as those above.

Good judgment and common sense are qualities which Ozaukee County should demand from every circuit court judge.