The prosecution against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade law enforcement will proceed, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge Lynn Adelman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin adopted a recommendation from U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph that Dugan’s motion to dismiss the charges should be denied. Adelman rejected Dugan’s claims of judicial immunity from the obstruction charges filed by the DOJ earlier this year.
“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.’ As the magistrate judge noted, the same is true in the bribery prosecutions, concededly valid, where the judges were prosecuted for performing official acts intertwined with bribery,” Adelman, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, said in his ruling.
Adelman added, “Even if a more limited version of judicial immunity exists, it does not support dismissal of the instant indictment.”
Dugan argued a form of judicial immunity prevented the Justice Department from seeking criminal obstruction charges against her, and she referred to the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Trump v. United States, which found “presumptive immunity” for the president’s official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts.
In his Tuesday order, the federal judge also scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3 to discuss scheduling for the case. The obstruction case was originally scheduled to go to trial on July 21, but was indefinitely postponed pending the motion to dismiss.
Dugan’s criminal charges stem from her alleged efforts to help Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant who appeared before her court, and his lawyer exit her courtroom via a back door after federal agents appeared at the courthouse to arrest him. Flores-Ruiz was arrested shortly after leaving the courthouse through the back door, while Dugan was arrested roughly a week later.
In her bid to dismiss the two obstruction charges against her, the indicted Milwaukee County circuit judge argued she was “doing her job” on the day Flores-Ruiz appeared before her court. Dugan has pleaded not guilty.
INDICTED JUDGE DUGAN CLAIMS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ESCAPE CASE CRIMINALIZES ‘DOING HER JOB’
In her recommendation to the court, Joseph argued, “A judge’s actions, even when done in her official capacity, do not bar criminal prosecution if the actions were done in violation of the criminal law.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan from her duties shortly after she was federally charged earlier this year. The charges filed against Dugan carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine if convicted.