Judge Dugan misconduct; despite guilty verdict, Dugan still being paid

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan still has her job, which means your tax money is paying her, even after a jury found her guilty of obstructing federal agents. 

Dugan's still a judge, for now

What we know:

Dugan's name is still seen outside of her old courtroom. But she has not served as a judge since April. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan when the feds charged her. She is still getting paid, while other judges cover her cases.

Dig deeper:

The Wisconsin Constitution says a person convicted of a felony shall not be eligible to hold office. 

Wisconsin state law says an elected official loses office upon conviction and sentencing for a felony. A jury convicted Judge Hannah Dugan, but federal Judge Lynn Adelman hasn't yet entered that judgment. Further, Adelman has not sentenced Dugan.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is not making any decisions now – and pointed out the federal court has not yet entered the guilty judgment.

"The judge has not entered the judgment of conviction into the record, yet. So, in other words, the judge has not accepted the verdict, yet. Because Mr. Biskupic and his team said, ‘Judge, we want to fight this,’" explained legal expert Jonathan LaVoy. 

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Judge Adelman has given the Dugan defense team until Jan. 30, 2026 to file a motion to overrule the jury's guilty verdict. 

The government will then have to respond by Feb. 20, 2026, and the defense can reply to that by March 6. 

Actions of judges

What they're saying:

"Judges tend not to overturn verdicts of juries, especially ones that have been deliberating, seen a week-long presentation, deliberating for six hours," said James Santelle, former U.S. Attorney. 

"In very, very rare occasions do judges supersede the ultimate verdict of the jury. I don’t expect Judge Adelman will do so in this case," LaVoy said. 

That debate pushes back sentencing. 

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"My anticipation is the judge will not impose any sentence of incarceration, maybe a term of supervised release, arguably maybe a fine, but unlikely Hannah Dugan will be go to jail," Santelle said. 

"Judge Adelman is a very compassionate judge, who has a track record of being more lenient in federal sentencings than some other federal judges have been," LaVoy said. 

Impeachment a possibility?

What's next:

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said if Dugan does not resign, the chamber will move to impeach her. 

The last impeachment of a judge was right after the state's founding. Back in 1853, the Assembly impeached Judge Levi Hubbell, but the Wisconsin Senate acquitted him.