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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The news was reported incorrectly. On Saturday it was widely reported that disgraced Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan had sent a resignation letter to Governor Tony Evers.
She’d been convicted of obstructing ICE officers who were waiting outside her courtroom to make an arrest. A jury found her guilty of a felony. Felons cannot hold public office in Wisconsin.
Her letter states that she hopes her seat on the bench will be filled quickly by gubernatorial appointment. She wrote that she is stepping aside so that the court doesn’t get entangled in a long battle with the legislature, over her impeachment.
She makes it sound as if she is doing something magnanimous. She isn’t.
Assembly speaker Robin Vos said last week that impeachment proceedings against Hannah Dugan is not high on his priority list. This is a perfect example of why many conservatives think HE is a poor leader. Dugan is in office illegally. Removing her should be the number one thing.
Even the spin on her impeachment is wrong. The state constitution says she cannot be a judge after her felony conviction. Someone, anyone, should march into court and ask for an order removing her immediately. There’s no need for the legislature to waste time on impeachment proceedings. Just ask a judge to follow the constitution. Frankly, Judge Lynn Adelmen, who presided over Dugan’s trial, should have removed her from the bench as soon as the jury’s verdict was announced. But Judge Adelman is a liberal, he’s certainly sympathetic to her on appeal, and federal judges are reluctant to get tangled up in state law.
Don’t think for a moment that Hannah Dugan did the right thing. She was wrong when she showed an illegal immigrant out of her courtroom through a back door… and she was wrong not to resign her judgeship immediately.
Chris Conley
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