MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, July 8 Former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan is due to be sentenced on Wednesday after being convicted of obstructing a planned immigration arrest outside her courtroom, in a case that drew national attention during President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign.
Dugan, 67, a former elected judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, was found guilty of obstructing a federal proceeding but acquitted of a lesser charge of concealing a person from arrest following a federal trial in December.
The case highlighted growing tensions over the Trump administration’s use of courthouses as locations for immigration arrests and efforts to discourage officials from interfering with federal immigration enforcement.
Prosecutors Say Judge Helped Migrant Avoid Arrest
Federal prosecutors accused Dugan of directing Eduardo Flores Ruiz, a migrant from Mexico who was appearing in her courtroom on misdemeanor assault charges, through a non public jury door in an attempt to help him avoid federal immigration agents waiting outside the courtroom.
Despite leaving through the alternate exit, Flores Ruiz later walked through a public hallway with his attorney and was arrested outside the courthouse after a brief foot chase.
Sentencing Hearing
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman is scheduled to sentence Dugan during an 11:15 a.m. CST (1715 GMT) hearing in federal court in Milwaukee.
Although federal prosecutors did not recommend a specific sentence, they argued that federal sentencing guidelines call for between 15 and 21 months in prison.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors wrote that Dugan abused the authority of her judicial office.
“Rather than uphold the rule of law, the defendant used the power and prestige of judicial office to obstruct federal agents carrying out their lawful duties in order to help an individual evade arrest.”
They added that the punishment should reflect the serious nature of her actions and their broader impact on the justice system.
Defense Seeks No Prison Time
Dugan’s lawyers dispute the prosecution’s interpretation of the sentencing guidelines and have asked the court to impose a sentence of time served, meaning she would not spend time in prison.
Her legal team argued that the incident was an isolated and unique episode and said there is no possibility of it being repeated.
The defense also noted that Dugan lost her judicial office after her conviction and said she had been intentionally shamed by senior officials at the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI following her arrest in April 2025.
Source: Reuters
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