The Democrat-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Tuesday, following her arrest by federal officials for allegedly helping an illegal migrant evade arrest.
Dugan was arrested Friday by the FBI after the agency looked into the former judge’s background and found she allegedly helped an illegal migrant charged with violence avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In a court order filed Tuesday, the state’s Supreme Court stated that Dugan is “temporarily prohibited” from carrying out her responsibilities as a county judge “until further order of the court.”
“In the exercise of that constitutional authority and in order to uphold the public confidence in the court of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude on our own motion that it is the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duty,” the two-page order states.
While Dugan will no longer be able to fulfill her duties, she will reportedly still collect her over $170,000 salary during administrative leave, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
On April 18, ICE agents arrived at the courthouse where Dugan presides to arrest a migrant scheduled for a hearing with the judge. However, Dugan allegedly directed the migrant and his lawyer to head down the hallway and to another floor to avoid ICE agents.
According to the state’s Supreme Court filing, the two federal crimes Dugan was arrested for could result in a felony and a misdemeanor, depending on the outcome of the charges.
Dugan’s legal team said in court Friday that “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” per the Associated Press. In a statement responding to the court’s suspension Tuesday, Dugan’s attorneys expressed their “disappointment,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“We are disappointed that the Court acted in unilateral fashion,” Dugan’s legal team said, according to the outlet. “We continue to assert Judge Dugan’s innocence and look forward to her vindication in court.”
Dugan is scheduled to appear in court on May 15.
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