Thread: Judge Who Obstructed ICE Spared Jail

Judge Who Obstructed ICE Spared Jail

By William Teach July 9, 2026 – 7:00 am

It’s nice that there are different standards of justice in the system. I bet if you obstructed the judicial proceedings in her court room you’d end up in the slammer

Former Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrant
Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant out of her courtroom to evade US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A federal judge fined her $5,000 and cited her otherwise law-abiding life in issuing the sentence.
Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings. (snip)
“I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said, adding that she has had to retire from public life due to threats against her and her family.
A prosecutor then acknowledged that “she has experienced collateral damage because of her conduct,” but said “judges can’t choose to disregard the law.”
US District Judge Lynn Adelman then spoke, saying Dugan made a bad decision and that he doesn’t believe prison is necessary.
“This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service,” the judge said. “It’s a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life.”

I bet Adelman has sentenced many people to jail who were good, upstanding citizens but made one quick mistake. What Dugan did was make a consciences choice to violate federal law.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, the presentence report calls for 15 to 21 months behind bars. The judge is not bound by those guidelines.

But, nope. Nice to have pals making decisions in court.

Judge Who Obstructed ICE Spared Jail » Pirate's Cove

Former Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrant

By Associated Press
20 hr ago



Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan walks into the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse on May 15, 2025.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
AP — Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant out of her courtroom to evade US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A federal judge fined her $5,000 and cited her otherwise law-abiding life in issuing the sentence.
Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.
Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened “the independence of our judiciary.” Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a social media post following her conviction.
Two Marquette University law professors spoke on her behalf, including a former state Supreme Court justice and a Jesuit priest who read a statement describing Dugan as a defender of oppressed people and saying he didn’t believe there was a need for punishment. “Hannah models what it means to be a Christian,” Gregory O’Meara said.

Dugan then rose to address the court, saying she’s tried to do her best as a judge, and that her actions that day in April 2025 were not done maliciously but rather to maintain the “decorum and safety of the courtroom.”
“I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said, adding that she has had to retire from public life due to threats against her and her family.
A prosecutor then acknowledged that “she has experienced collateral damage because of her conduct,” but said “judges can’t choose to disregard the law.”

US District Judge Lynn Adelman then spoke, saying Dugan made a bad decision and that he doesn’t believe prison is necessary.

“This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service,” the judge said. “It’s a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life.”
He also noted that Dugan’s actions didn’t stop the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.
Prosecutors pushed for a ‘serious sentence’

While jurors found her guilty of felony obstruction, they acquitted her of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors argued in a sentencing memo filed last week that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.
“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,” Executive Assistant US Attorney Richard Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that line.”
Dugan’s attorneys argued she has been “punished enough,” including resigning as a judge and facing threats of violence. They argued in her sentencing memo that she should not be sentenced to any jail time besides the part of one day she already spent in federal custody.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, the presentence report calls for 15 to 21 months behind bars. The judge is not bound by those guidelines.
Prosecutors said the average sentence for obstruction cases is 16 months, but they did not recommend a sentence.
“This was a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence,” Frohling wrote.
No matter what she is sentenced to, Dugan’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal.
Dugan’s case was a first for Wisconsin

Dugan’s case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents.

On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office, saying their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.
Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.

Former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrant | CNN

Former Wisconsin judge convicted in immigration case to keep law license for now

By David Thomas
September 16, 20265:12 PM EDT
Updated 18 hours ago



Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, charged with obstructing an immigration arrest, leaves after appearing in court, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
, opens new tab

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Sept 16 (Reuters) - The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday declined for now to suspend the law license of Hannah Dugan, a former state judge who was convicted of ​obstructing a planned immigration arrest outside her courtroom in 2025.
In a 5-2 ruling
, opens new tab, *the Wisconsin Supreme Court said a "summary suspension of Attorney Dugan’s license to practice law in Wisconsin is not warranted under the facts of this matter." State disciplinary authorities, who asked the court to ​summarily suspend Dugan based on her conviction, can still seek to strip her ​law license.
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Dugan was convicted of obstructing a federal proceeding and cleared of a ⁠lesser charge of concealing a person from arrest following a federal trial in December. Federal ​prosecutors said she helped a Mexican migrant sought by federal agents leave through a non-public ​courtroom door.
Dugan's arrest drew national attention as President Donald Trump's administration sought to deter interference with its immigration enforcement efforts, and became a flashpoint over the Trump administration's use of courthouses to detain migrants.
Wisconsin's Office ​of Lawyer Regulation, which investigates attorneys who may have violated ethical rules, asked the ​state Supreme Court to summarily suspend Dugan's license less than two weeks after she was sentenced in July *to ⁠no prison time and fined $5,000.
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The Wisconsin high court's two conservative justices, Brian Hagedorn and Annette Ziegler, dissented from Wednesday's decision. Ziegler wrote that she was "confounded by our court's inaction" against Dugan, adding that the court's ruling does not prohibit the Office of Lawyer Regulation ​from pursuing a disciplinary ​case against Dugan.
State ⁠attorney records list Dugan as being in "good standing" with no mention of any active disciplinary complaints against her.
An attorney for Dugan declined ​to comment. A spokesperson for the Office of Lawyer Regulation did ​not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment.
Dugan has appealed her conviction to the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In a brief filed last week, Dugan's lawyers, including Paul Clement of ⁠Clement & Murphy, ​argued that Dugan's prosecution was barred due to her ​judicial immunity and under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says that any powers not specifically ​given to the federal government belong to the states or the people.

video

Reporting by David Thomas

Former Wisconsin judge convicted in immigration case to keep law license for now | Reuters

Good Grief: Wisconsin Supreme Court Allows Convicted Judge To Keep Law License

By William Teach September 17, 2026 – 7:00 am

No, no, are judicial justice system is totally not broken

Former Wisconsin judge convicted in immigration case to keep law license for now
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday declined for now to suspend the law license of Hannah Dugan, a former state judge who was convicted of ?obstructing a planned immigration arrest outside her courtroom in 2025.
In a 5-2 ruling, opens new tab, ?the Wisconsin Supreme Court said a “summary suspension of Attorney Dugan’s license to practice law in Wisconsin is not warranted under the facts of this matter.” State disciplinary authorities, who asked the court to ?summarily suspend Dugan based on her conviction, can still seek to strip her ?law license.

The facts?

Dugan was convicted of obstructing a federal proceeding and cleared of a ?lesser charge of concealing a person from arrest following a federal trial in December. Federal ?prosecutors said she helped a Mexican migrant sought by federal agents leave through a non-public ?courtroom door.
Wisconsin’s Office ?of Lawyer Regulation, which investigates attorneys who may have violated ethical rules, asked the ?state Supreme Court to summarily suspend Dugan’s license less than two weeks after she was sentenced in July ?to ?no prison time and fined $5,000.
The Wisconsin high court’s two conservative justices, Brian Hagedorn and Annette Ziegler, dissented from Wednesday’s decision. Ziegler wrote that she was “confounded by our court’s inaction” against Dugan, adding that the court’s ruling does not prohibit the Office of Lawyer Regulation ?from pursuing a disciplinary ?case against Dugan.

The liberals wouldn’t even suspend her license, when, really, it should be pulled. What’s the over/under she runs for judge again and the liberals voter her in?
Meanwhile

Over 400 arrested during targeted immigration enforcement operation in Indiana: ICE
More than 400 people were taken into custody during an immigration enforcement operation in Indiana that began late last month.
According to officials from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the five-day operation, titled, “Operation Safe Community-Indiana,” which unfolded between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3, resulted in the arrest of 426 individuals described as “illegal alien offenders.”
ICE officials said the arrests involved individuals with criminal histories that include sex crimes, assault and battery, domestic assault, drug trafficking, assault with a dangerous weapon, other weapons crimes, fraud, identity theft, burglary, property damage, driving while intoxicated, public order crimes and more.

More!

Good Grief: Wisconsin Supreme Court Allows Convicted Judge To Keep Law License » Pirate's Cove