DUGAN SET FOR SEAT ON U.S. BENCH

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

and the MilwaukeeWorld Hound Dog Team


Hon. Timothy G. Dugan, [Marquette '78] will be named to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to replace Judge Rudolph T. Randa [UW '66] who announced plans to go on senior status last July. Dugan is currently judge of Branch #10 of Miulwaukee County Circuit Court. He was appointed to the position in 1992 by former Republican governor Tommy G. Thompson, [UW '66]. Dugan's court is located in Room 402 of the courthouse, and is known in judicial circles as "Court Official #1323." He holds Wisconsin Bar Association Membership #1018474. His attorney license status as a judicial member is "good," which is the highest ranking possible. He did not immediately return a telephone call from milwaukeeworld asking for comment.
Dugan's job now is to secure Senate confirmation of his appointment by the Lame Duck administration of George W. Bush, something the Democratic body may not be inclined to do so close to an election.
Randa made his move to senior status contingent on his successor being named by Bush and confirmed by the Senate. Dugan was among six finalists named by a bipartisan commission along with Hon. Michael B. Brennan [NWU '89], Hon. Maxine Aldridge White, [MU '85] Hon. J. Mac Davis, [Michigan '76] Hon. Gerald P. Ptacek [MU '74]and Atty. James L. Santelle [U. Chicago '83].
Wisconsin senators Russell D. Feingold [Harvard '77] and Herbert H. Kohl, both Democrats, serve on the U. S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. We'll see what kind of hurry they're in to get their fellow Wisconsinite a lifetime appointment.
Over in the Western District of Wisconsin, Hon. John C. Shabaz, [MU '57] announced his intention of going on senior status as well. Shabaz, who will turn a big 77 years old on June 25th, was appointed to the bench by Ronald Reagan in 1981 to replace James E. Doyle, Sr.
On January 22nd, 2008, the Federal Nominating Commission, established by the Wisconsin Bar Association in 1979 to review judicial candidates, forwarded the names of five applicants for the consideration of Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Feingold and Kohl.
In addition to Brennan and Davis, whose names had also been forwarded for the Eastern District seat, the panel selected Stephen J. Meyer [UW '79], Erik C. Peterson [Marquette '95] and Lisa K. Stark [UW '82].
According to Thomas Solberg of the commission, the names were forwarded to the three legislators in January, and apparently nothing has happened since. Things moved a little quicker with the Eastern District appointment, he said.
[UPDATE: Friday, June 6th, 2008 -- I forgot to tell you how I got this intelligence. The FBI is conducting background checks of Dugan, but not of the other finalists. I have spoken to attorneys who have been contacted, including old classmates of the Marquette University High School grad. I've tried to get the other finalists to say something, to no avail.--Ed.]