A Wisconsin judge recklessly accused of helping a man evade arrest by U.S. immigration agents lost an attempt on August 26 to throw out the Trump administration’s case against her.
The politically motivated prosecution of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan has highlighted the push by Donald Trump’s autocratic regime to confront state and local authorities who resist his sweeping immigration crackdown.
Democrats have accused federal authorities under Trump of trying to make a national example of Judge Dugan to chill judicial opposition to its deportation efforts.
Her April arrest at the county courthouse was a politically organized circus designed to make her look guilty in the media. She was indicted on federal charges in May, and quickly filed a motion to dismiss the charges. Judge Dugan argued that she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and is therefore immune from prosecution.
However, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman on Tuesday rejected that argument and upheld the July recommendation of a magistrate judge who also ruled that the case could proceed.
Adelman said the dispute boils down to Judge Dugan arguing that there is a general rule of immunity for judges from prosecution, with some limited exceptions, while the government argues that the cited exceptions are simply examples of types of prosecutions that have been brought.
“A review of the relevant history reveals the government has the better of the argument,” Adelman wrote.
He said that “the particulars of this case may be unusual,” but “there is no firmly established judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution of judges for judicial acts. There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job.'”
Attorneys for Judge Dugan said in a statement that they were disappointed with the judge’s decision, but “we look forward to the trial which will show Judge Dugan did nothing wrong and simply treated this case like any other in front of her courtroom.”
Steve Caballero, spokesman for prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s Milwaukee, had no comment on the ruling.
Adelman’s decision could be appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He scheduled a hearing in the case for September 3.
Judge Dugan has pleaded not guilty to helping a man in the country illegally try to evade authorities. No trial date has been set. She faces up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine if convicted on both counts.
In a motion in May to dismiss the charges, Judge Dugan argued that the federal government violated Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.
Judge Dugan also argued that the prosecution under federal law violated the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers because it overrides the state of Wisconsin’s ability to administer its courts.
The judge rejected her arguments.
Judge Dugan is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor, and obstruction, which is a felony. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back door on April 18 after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking to arrest him for being in the country without permanent legal status.
Agents arrested Flores-Ruiz outside the courthouse after a brief foot chase.
Milwaukee police recently released body camera footage of Judge Dugan saying she didn’t know Flores-Ruiz was in the country illegally. The comments were captured three days before her arrest after Judge Dugan called police because of potentially threatening flyers she and family members had received.
The footage shows Judge Dugan telling police that media reports had been swirling about how she supposedly “hid” Flores-Ruiz in her courtroom. She goes on to say she didn’t know the person in her courtroom that day was in the country illegally, and she denied giving him special treatment.
“It’s all lies,” Judge Dugan told officers. She later said, “I didn’t do anything that they’re saying.”
Judge Dugan’s case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a courthouse back door to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent. That case was eventually dismissed.
