The federal trial of a Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities in her courtroom gets underway Monday. Judge Hannah Dugan has pleaded not guilty to one felony count of obstructing a proceeding and a misdemeanor count of concealing an individual to prevent arrest.
What happened?
According to the criminal complaint against Dugan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) set out to arrest Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz for being in the U.S. illegally. They learned he’d appear before Dugan on April 18 on unrelated charges and arrived at the courthouse to apprehend him.
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Agents say Dugan told them they needed a judicial warrant and sent them to the chief judge’s office. She then allegedly allowed Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer to leave the courtroom through a non-public jury door.
ICE agents caught up with Flores-Ruiz and arrested him, anyway. He has since been deported.
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A Massachusetts judge faced federal charges in 2018 for allegedly letting someone leave a courthouse through a back door to evade ICE arrest.
Dugan’s defense
According to court documents, Dugan’s attorneys argue court policy on immigration enforcement at the courthouse was in flux at the time of the incident. They said Dugan was following draft protocols from the chief judge requiring her to refer ICE agents to a supervisor.
“As she said after her unnecessary arrest, Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court,” Dugan’s defense team said in a statement issued before her arraignment.
In September, Dugan’s lawyers tried to get the charges dismissed, arguing that she’s immune from prosecution because she was acting in her official capacity as a judge. A U.S. district judge refused to drop the case, ruling judges are not immune to criminal prosecution.
What we know about the trial
At least nine federal law enforcement officials — from ICE, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs and Border Protection — are expected to testify, according to The New York Times.
The Times said other potential witnesses include Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
The trial is expected to last a week.
What’s at stake
If convicted, Dugan faces up to six years in prison. Dugan was temporarily removed from the bench by the Wisconsin Supreme Court while the case against her worked its way through the court. She has been on paid administrative leave since April.
