Wisconsin Circuit Judge Monica Isham is threatening to refuse to hold court and even raise bail on defendants because of the arrest of Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan.
“Guidance requested or I Refuse to Hold Court,” an email she sent after Dugan’s arrest to all Wisconsin state judges says. WRN exclusively obtained the email from a recipient on April 26.
“I have no intention of allowing anyone to be taken out of my courtroom by ICE and sent to a concentration camp, especially without due process, as BOTH of the constitutions we swore to support requires. Should I start raising bail money?” Isham wrote.
Wisconsin statutes are very specific about the circumstances in which a judge may raise bail money. Obviously, concern about ICE is not a valid legal reason to hold a defendant with higher bail.
Dugan was charged with federal felonies on accusations that she helped an illegal immigrant escape federal law enforcement agents who were trying to arrest him on a warrant in a public hallway at the Milwaukee County courthouse. The illegal immigrant, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, who is accused of three battery counts, was previously deported, according to the complaint.
“Good morning all,” Isham’s email starts.
“For those of you who do not know me, I am Monica Isham, Sawyer County Circuit Court Judge for Branch 2. I have been in this position less than 2 years. I was elected as the first woman, first Native American, first minority all together (sic), to serve as a circuit court judge in Sawyer County.”
Sawyer County is located in northern Wisconsin.
“I have sworn an Oath to support the Constitution of the United States (sic) and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin,” her email continued. “Since January 20th I have endured many racial attacks in my court. While on the bench in my courtroom I was called an ‘immigrant,’ I have been told I ‘have no jurisdiction over white people in my county.’ I had a prospective juror loudly proclaim that she would not follow any orders from a brown or black person and that if the defendant were brown or black they would find them guilty.
Yesterday, Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee County stood on her Oath in the very building she swore to uphold it and she was arrested and charged with felonies for it. Enough is enough. I no longer feel protected or respected as a Judge in this administration. If there is no guidance for us and no support for us, I will refuse to hold court in Branch 2 in Sawyer County. I will not put myself or my staff who may feel compelled to help me or my community in harms way. We have a Judicial District 10 meeting on May 9th and I respectfully ask that we be given some guidance by then so we may discuss as a group in District 10. Please forward this along.
If this costs me my job or gets me arrested then at least I know I did the right thing.”
The email is signed, “Monica M. Isham, Sawyer County Circuit Judge branch 2.”
Isham was elected to the bench in 2023. She is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe, of which her father was chairman.
