{"id":2530417,"date":"2026-01-06T08:12:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/felon-milwaukee-county-judge-resigns-with-guaranteed-pension\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T08:15:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:15:19","slug":"felon-milwaukee-county-judge-resigns-with-guaranteed-pension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/felon-milwaukee-county-judge-resigns-with-guaranteed-pension\/","title":{"rendered":"Felon Milwaukee County Judge Resigns With Guaranteed Pension"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffelon-milwaukee-county-judge-resigns-with-guaranteed-pension%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2530417&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan has resigned after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-bureau-of-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-was-involved-in-eco-terrorism-case-resulted-in-college-roommates-conviction-prison-sentence-court-records-show\/\" title=\"Biden Bureau Of Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Was Involved In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case, Resulted In College Roommate\u2019s Conviction, Prison Sentence, ... Records Show\">federal jury found<\/a> her guilty of obstruction for escorting an undocumented defendant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, out of her courtroom on April 18 as ICE agents sought to arrest him. Dugan, who was suspended by the Wisconsin supreme Court after being charged, has appealed the conviction and awaits sentencing; she could face up to five years in prison but is unlikely to serve significant time for a first offense. In her resignation letter she framed the case as a threat to judicial independence, but Wisconsin law bars convicted felons from holding state office, and Republican legislators had threatened impeachment if she stayed. Despite the felony conviction, Dugan will retain her state pension as Wisconsin Retirement System rules treat pensions as earned benefits except in narrow cases where restitution is ordered for theft or public-office misconduct that caused a loss to the employer. Gov. Tony Evers will appoint a replacement for the Branch 31 seat.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Facing up to five years in prison for helping a violent illegal immigrant escape ICE officers, Milwaukee County Circuit Court <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/19\/court-finds-milwaukee-judge-hannah-dugan-guilty-of-obstructing-ice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge Hannah Dugan<\/a> is resigning. But even with the felony conviction on her record, Dugan will receive a generous taxpayer-funded retirement no matter what happens next.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A federal jury last month found Dugan <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/19\/court-finds-milwaukee-judge-hannah-dugan-guilty-of-obstructing-ice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guilty<\/a> on the obstruction charge for the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/28\/milwaukee-judge-charged-with-putting-herself-above-the-law-by-rejecting-rule-of-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April 18<\/a> incident in which the leftist judge escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to the &ldquo;jury door,&rdquo; allowing the illegal alien to briefly flee from Department of Homeland Security agents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Judge Hannah Dugan is Neither&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>On Saturday, Dugan submitted her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Judge-Hannah-Dugan-Letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resignation letter<\/a> to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. In it, she attempted to play both the martyr card and the social-justice hero as she decried the &ldquo;unprecedented&rdquo; charges against her. The Milwaukee County judge is appealing her conviction. She awaits a sentencing date, although it is unlikely Dugan will see much, if any, time behind bars for her first offense.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am the subject of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/convicted-milwaukee-judge-resigns-while-appealing-charge-for-helping-illegal-immigrant-escape\/\" title=\"Convicted Milwaukee ... resigns while appealing charge for helping ... escape\">unprecedented federal legal proceedings<\/a>, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary,&rdquo; Dugan asserts in the resignation letter. As The Federalist has<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/04\/wi-judge-charged-with-helping-illegal-alien-evade-ice-has-a-case-of-judicial-privilege\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> reported,<\/a> a Massachusetts judge faced criminal proceedings in 2019 following a nearly identical incident.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary,&rdquo; the felon judge bloviated. &ldquo;However, the Wisconsin citizens that I cherish deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31 rather than have the fate of that Court rest in a partisan fight in the state legislature.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As a felon, Dugan really has no other choice but to resign. The <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/2011\/related\/wiscon\/_23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wisconsin constitution<\/a> makes clear that those convicted of a felony are barred from holding &ldquo;any office of trust, profit or honor in this state&rdquo; &mdash; unless they have been pardoned.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Republicans threatened to impeach Dugan if she did not resign.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Wisconsinites deserve to know their judiciary is impartial and that justice is blind. Judge Hannah Dugan is neither, and her privilege of serving the people of Wisconsin has come to an end,&rdquo; wrote Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August in a joint statement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;An Earned  Benefit&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>The liberal-led Wisconsin Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/01\/wisconsin-supreme-court-removes-federally-charged-judge-from-the-bench\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suspended<\/a> Dugan last spring after she was charged in federal court. Court records and trial testimony show Dugan was &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wi-supreme-court-removes-federally-charged-judge-from-bench\/\" title=\"WI Supreme ... Removes Federally Charged ... From Bench\">visibly angry&#038;rdquo<\/a>; when ICE agents arrived outside her courtroom with an administrative warrant for Flores-Ruiz&rsquo;s arrest. She demanded the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >federal law enforcement officers speak<\/a> to the chief judge. While they were distracted, Dugan directed the illegal immigrant to the exit, which was not accessible to the general public. Flores-Ruiz, who was in court that day on<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/28\/milwaukee-judge-charged-with-putting-herself-above-the-law-by-rejecting-rule-of-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> misdemeanor battery charges<\/a>, was arrested on the street a short time later.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I directed him [the ICE agent] down the hall to the administrative offices. What happened after that is their business,&rdquo; Dugan <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/26\/wisconsin-judge-charged-with-helping-illegal-alien-evade-ice-rakes-in-nearly-50k-in-pay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> police officers three days before her arrest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisn.com\/article\/bodycam-video-shows-judge-dugan-deny-allegations-against-her\/65872495\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> video footage obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. &ldquo;I did not hide this migrant in the jury room or in my chambers. I had him leave out the back door, which I do when the circumstances warrant it. And these are the circumstances that warrant it: I had a room of 30 people, and I just sent him out the door.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite her felony conviction, the 66-year-old judge will still collect her state pension. A spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds, which administers state pensions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/01\/05\/ex-milwaukee-county-judge-hannah-dugan-will-retain-state-pension\/88017611007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that a guilty verdict doesn&rsquo;t typically lead to the loss of retirement benefits.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With a limited exception, Wisconsin state law does not require an individual to forfeit their&nbsp;WRS [Wisconsin Retirement System]&nbsp;pension because of being terminated or criminal charges,&rdquo; the agency&rsquo;s Mark Lamkins wrote in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/01\/05\/ex-milwaukee-county-judge-hannah-dugan-will-retain-state-pension\/88017611007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email<\/a> to the newspaper.&nbsp;&ldquo;A WRS pension is an earned benefit of employment based on an individual&rsquo;s contributions and eligibility and cannot be taken away.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;limited exception&rdquo; is related to a state law that allows retirement funds to be withheld in a restitution order, the publication noted. Such orders only apply to cases involving &ldquo;felony theft and misconduct in public office, the crime resulted in a loss to the defendant&rsquo;s employer, and the defendant&rsquo;s employer participates in the WRS.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Apparently Dugan&rsquo;s conviction does not fit the exception.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>State employee pension information is confidential, so it&rsquo;s not known just how much Dugan will rake in from her guaranteed retirement benefit. But the judge drew an annual salary of $174,512, or $6,712 every two weeks, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/26\/wisconsin-judge-charged-with-helping-illegal-alien-evade-ice-rakes-in-nearly-50k-in-pay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the Wisconsin Court System.&nbsp;She continued to collect her wages following her suspension, as The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/26\/wisconsin-judge-charged-with-helping-illegal-alien-evade-ice-rakes-in-nearly-50k-in-pay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> in August.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Evers, Wisconsin&rsquo;s far-left governor who last year announced he will not seek a third term, will select a judge to fill Dugan&rsquo;s vacant seat. If the Democrat&rsquo;s past appointments are any indication, the governor will select the kind of liberal judicial activist that has occupied the circuit court seat for the past 10 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge Dugan resigns; keeps state pension despite felony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2530418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-06-at-12.22.29-AM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[35512,70208,70174,46920,70207],"class_list":["post-2530417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-felony-conviction","tag-guaranteed-pension","tag-judge-resignation","tag-judicial-ethics","tag-milwaukee-county"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-06-at-12.22.29-AM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2530417"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530421,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530417\/revisions\/2530421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2530418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2530417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2530417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2530417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}