Judge Dugan’s Sentence is a Joke

This is predictable but also sad. Last December, Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted on a felony count of obstructing federal agents. Normally, a felony conviction comes with some significant consequences, but not this time. Dugan will serve no jail time at all.

In a Milwaukee courtroom on Wednesday, Ms. Dugan, a judge no longer, was fined $5,000 but spared prison time, months after a federal jury convicted her of obstructing those agents…

In court on Wednesday, Ms. Dugan defended her actions.

“For more than a year, the circumstances of this prosecution have been politicized,” she said before the sentence was announced. “I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job.”

In other words, she has shown zero remorse. In fact, she still refuses to admit she did anything wrong. 

Normally, a judge takes remorse (or the lack of it) into account when deciding on a sentence, but not in this case it seems. Prosecutors pointed out that Dugan should have been facing around 18 months in jail for the felony conviction.

In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said that federal guidelines called for a prison term of 15 to 21 months in prison. They did not ask for a specific sentence from Judge Lynn Adelman, who was nominated to the U.S. District Court by President Bill Clinton.

“Rather than uphold the rule of law, the defendant used the power and prestige of judicial office to obstruct federal agents carrying out their lawful duties in order to help an individual evade arrest,” prosecutors wrote. They added: “This was a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence.”

The local paper notes that Judge Adelman has a reputation for light sentences anyway. On top of that, Dugan has a lot of highly placed friends.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman will sentence Dugan and could give her prison time. However, Adelman has a reputation for sentences below the federal sentencing guidelines…

Submitting nearly 20 letters of support from diverse sources, Dugan’s team said she “has been punished enough.”

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, who is now on faculty at the Marquette Law School, and Gregory P. O’Meara, rector of the Marquette University Jesuit Community, are expected to speak on Dugan’s behalf…

Dugan’s team wrote that the case was overcharged. They suggested she be sentenced to time served. She spent part of a day in federal custody.

Just a reminder that Dugan was caught red-handed abusing her authority. She knew what she was doing was wrong and the other judge she roped into coming along with her into the hallway to confront ICE agents said she felt uncomfortable with what was happening. 

Dugan also arguably got off easy because she wasn’t convicted on the 2nd count because she claimed not to know whose name was on the warrant. She may not have known but there’s no doubt she tried to 1) distract the arrest team and send them into the chief judge’s office, 2) rush through a proceeding and 3) usher an illegal immigrant out a non-public hallway to a stairwell so he could escape arrest. The only reason the plan didn’t work is that the lawyer took her client through the wrong door back into the hallway where they were spotted by a member of the arrest team Judge Dugan didn’t know about.

But because she’s a former judge, Dugan gets barely a slap on the wrist. 

Judge Adelman said from the bench on Wednesday that prison was not necessary. He described Ms. Dugan as “an otherwise good person upset by immigrant enforcement” who had “made a bad decision in the moment.”

“This isn’t like cases of public corruption where an official sells her office,” Judge Adelman said before announcing the sentence.

This is a lot like public corruption. The only difference is that Judge Dugan abused her authority for partisan reasons rather than financial ones. But because she’s a left-wing hack and buddies with a bunch of other judges, she gets no jail time, keeps her pension and may even be able to keep her law license. This isn’t justice. It’s an absolute joke.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

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