A federal judge has ruled that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan cannot use “judicial immunity” as a shield against charges that she helped a criminal alien avoid federal custody.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied Dugan’s motion to dismiss, concluding that the conduct alleged in the indictment fell outside the protection normally given to judges acting in their official role.
Prosecutors say the case stems from an April 18 incident at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Dugan allegedly learned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were waiting to detain a defendant in her courtroom, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a foreign national facing three misdemeanor battery charges.
According to the indictment, she confronted the agents, told them they needed a judicial warrant, and sent them to the chief judge’s office. She then allegedly handled the matter off the record and allowed Flores-Ruiz to exit the courtroom through a rear door with his attorney — seemingly to bypass ICE.
Though ICE arrested Flores-Ruiz later that day, federal prosecutors charged Dugan with interfering in a federal arrest. Her attorneys argued that her actions were covered under judicial immunity, but the court has now ruled otherwise.
With immunity off the table, Dugan’s future — and the boundaries of judicial authority — will be tested in a courtroom showdown…
