MADISON, WISCONSIN — Republican leaders in the Wisconsin Legislature on Friday demanded that Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan resign immediately or face impeachment following her federal felony conviction tied to an immigration enforcement incident earlier this year.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August issued a joint statement warning that impeachment proceedings would begin if Dugan does not step down. They argued her conviction undermines public trust in judicial impartiality, noting that Wisconsin has not impeached a judge since 1853. GOP lawmakers have also introduced legislation that would suspend pay for judges removed from the bench.
A federal jury convicted Dugan on Thursday of felony obstruction after prosecutors said she allowed an undocumented immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, to leave her courtroom through a non-public hallway while plainclothes federal immigration agents waited outside. The jury acquitted Dugan on a separate charge of concealing an individual from arrest, delivering a split verdict after a four-day trial.
Dugan was suspended with pay by the Wisconsin Supreme Court following her arrest by FBI agents in April. Prosecutors argued she intentionally interfered with federal law enforcement, while defense attorneys countered that courthouse immigration arrests had created fear and confusion and that the government was making an example of her amid the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
No sentencing date has been set, and Dugan’s legal team has said it plans to appeal the conviction. The standoff sets the stage for a rare and politically charged impeachment fight that could further entangle Wisconsin’s judiciary in the national immigration debate.
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