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William Hue
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William Felice Hue is a circuit court judge for Branch 2 of the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Wisconsin.[1]
Education
Hue earned his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.[2]
Career
Before serving on the circuit court, Hue worked as an attorney.[2]
2013 election
Hue was re-elected after running unopposed in the general election on April 2, 2013.[3][4]
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2013
Noteworthy cases
Wisconsin state judge authorizes release of John Doe report, then steps aside because of past Twitter comments about the case
In March 2017, Judge Hue was appointed to oversee court proceedings on the John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Hue was appointed to the case following the retirement of Jefferson County Circuit Judge David Wambach.[5]
On December 6, 2017, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report recommending disciplinary action but no criminal charges against six former employees of the now-defunct Government Accountability Board (GAB) and three employees of the Milwaukee County district attorney's office who participated in the John Doe investigations. Judge Hue authorized the release of this report. The report came at the conclusion of the Wisconsin DOJ's investigation into the leak of sealed John Doe documents published by the Guardian newspaper in September 2016.[6]
The report concluded that "the systemic and pervasive mishandling of John Doe evidence likely resulted in circumstances allowing the Guardian leak in the first place, and now prevents prosecutors from proving criminal liability beyond a reasonable doubt." While searching for the leaked documents, DOJ investigators also discovered evidence of what they referred to as John Doe III, a "previously unknown and secret investigation into a broad range of Wisconsin Republicans."[6]
On December 8, 2017, Judge Hue stepped down from overseeing John Doe proceedings. He withdrew in order to avoid the appearance of impartiality because of two comments he made about the case on Twitter in 2015 and 2016, before being assigned the case, telling reporters "I don't want to be the focus of any attention here." The same day, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack issued a statement accepting Hue's withdrawal because of appearance concerns while also expressing her belief that Hue could remain impartial.[5]
In December 2015, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that special prosecutor Francis Schmitz had been improperly appointed, Hue tweeted, "This happens when 'clever' lawyers outsmart themselves. It goes boom. Just play it down the middle. Just a wasteful shame." In 2016, in response to a news story published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about political campaigns working with outside groups, Hue tweeted, “Both sides do it but John Doe II only went after Republicans HARD. Imagine if the investigation fairly targeted BOTH parties."[5]
On December 18, 2017, Judge Hue told reporters that he made a mistake allowing some of the details contained in the Wisconsin DOJ's report on the Guardian leak to be released to the public earlier that month. Hue said, "I didn't intend to hurt these people. I didn't intend to out them or embarrass them." In a statement released the same day, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says that disclosing these details, including the existence of the previously unknown John Doe III investigation, was "critical to document the circumstances" leading to the leak. Schimel says that "The John Doe III records were not kept in such a way as to indicate whether the investigation was 'closed' and the allegations unsubstantiated." According to the Associated Press, "Hue said he was embarrassed about what he did and took responsibility for it, even though Schimel did not call for any redactions, including the names of 35 people who were investigated." The Associated Press also reported that Brown County Circuit Judge Kendall Kelley had been appointed to replace Hue.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Jefferson County
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Martindale.com, "Judge Profile: William Felice Hue"
- ↑ WI Government Accountability Board, "Certified Canvass Results for 2013 Spring Election" (dead link)
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board - Candidates on Ballot by Election, April 2nd Election (dead link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "John Doe judge to step down because of tweets he posted about the case," December 8, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Capital Times, "DOJ investigation of John Doe leak recommends disciplinary actions, reveals 'John Doe III' investigation," December 7, 2017
- ↑ Associated Press, "Judge says he shouldn't have released ethics probe details," December 18, 2017
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
