Jury selection is complete and a federal trial begins Monday for Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping a man evade immigration enforcement at the county courthouse last April.
A grand jury indicted Dugan the month after the incident. She faces one felony count of obstructing a proceeding and one misdemeanor count of concealing an individual to prevent an arrest. Dugan has pleaded not guilty; a conviction could carry up to six years in prison.
Prosecutors say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national determined to be in the U.S. unlawfully, while he was appearing before Dugan on misdemeanor domestic assault charges on April 18. According to the criminal complaint, prosecutors allege Dugan told agents they needed a judicial warrant, directed them out of a hallway to the chief judge’s office, discussed Flores-Ruiz’s case off the record while agents waited in the chief judge’s office, and instructed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave the courtroom through a non-public jury door. The complaint says she told the lawyer the defendant could appear by Zoom at his next date.
Prosecutors say Flores-Ruiz and his attorney ultimately ended up in a public hallway where ICE agents saw them; agents chased Flores-Ruiz outside, apprehended him and he was later deported.
NPR contacted Dugan and her lawyers, who declined to comment. Before her arraignment, members of her defense team said Dugan maintains her innocence and expects to be vindicated in court.
Dugan’s attorneys contend courthouse policy on immigration enforcement was unsettled and that she was following draft guidance from the chief judge that required referring ICE agents to a supervisor. A Wisconsin criminal defense attorney not involved in the case said if Dugan was explaining a different protocol and trying to reduce confrontation rather than obstruct law enforcement, that would bear on whether she intended to impede an arrest.
Legal experts say the case will likely turn on Dugan’s intent — whether she knowingly sought to conceal someone from federal agents or was managing courtroom procedures to avoid Department of Homeland Security interference. Historically, many courts treated courthouses as off-limits for arrests to avoid chilling attendance at proceedings; that practice has been eroded by more aggressive immigration enforcement in recent years.
The prosecution has drawn high-level attention. Officials from the Trump administration and former President Trump publicly supported the case, and the Department of Homeland Security criticized Dugan on social media. Dugan has hired prominent defense lawyers, including former Republican solicitor general Paul Clement, signaling her team may prepare for appeals. Observers say her defense includes major federal litigators in Wisconsin.
A similar incident occurred in 2018, when a Massachusetts judge faced charges over allegedly allowing someone to leave a courthouse through a back door to avoid ICE; felony charges were later dropped and the matter was referred to a judicial conduct commission. The outcome of Dugan’s trial will likely shape how courts balance courtroom administration and federal immigration enforcement going forward.