A federal judge ruled Monday that the conviction of former Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan for obstructing immigration enforcement will stand, rejecting her post-trial efforts to overturn the verdict.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a Clinton appointee, said the evidence presented during Dugan’s December trial was sufficient for a jury to find that she obstructed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempting to make an arrest outside her courtroom in April 2025.
Following a weeklong trial late last year, the jury convicted Dugan of felony obstruction while acquitting her of a separate charge of concealing an individual facing deportation, Courthouse News Service reported on Tuesday.
Dugan filed a post-trial motion in January asking Adelman to overturn her conviction or grant a new trial. In the filing, Dugan challenged several aspects of the case, including the validity of the administrative warrant for the individual scheduled to appear in her courtroom, the jury instructions, her intent, and the court’s interpretation of the obstruction statute.
Dugan argued that her actions fell within her authority to manage courtroom proceedings, a position she had also raised in pre-trial motions that were previously rejected by the court.
“As I noted in denying the motion to dismiss, there was no basis for granting immunity simply because the indictment described conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job,’” Adelman wrote in a 39-page decision.
Dugan emphasized that her conviction sets a troubling precedent for felony charges against anyone who simply inconveniences ICE officers.
“Defendant takes issue with the concept that a corrupt motive can make lawful acts unlawful … it would be improper to hold [the law] cannot be applied to the conduct at issue here just because difficult line drawing issue may arise in other cases,” Adelman wrote.
Adelman detailed a timeline presented at trial showing that on April 18, 2025, Hannah Dugan became aware that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was scheduled to appear before her, Courthouse News Service noted.
According to court findings, Dugan enlisted Judge Kristela Cervera to confront the officers and directed that they be taken to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office to review an administrative warrant.
Audio recordings presented at trial showed that Dugan then called Flores-Ruiz’s case, quickly rescheduled it, and directed him and his attorney through a jury door leading to a private hallway. They later exited into a public hallway where ICE officers were present.
Dugan has disputed that she intended to help the individual avoid arrest, arguing she did not review the warrant or know his identity at the time. During deliberations, jurors asked whether knowledge of the individual’s name was required to establish obstruction. Adelman instructed that it was not, a point Dugan later challenged in her post-trial motion.
“By way of analogy, in felony possession prosecutions the government typically identifies the firearm by make, model and serial number,” Adelman wrote. “But no one would argue the government is therefore required to prove the defendant knew the gun’s serial number.”
Dugan also argued that Eduardo Flores-Ruiz was protected from civil arrest while appearing in court, contending that she was acting within her authority to safeguard those protections on behalf of the judicial branch.
Adelman rejected that argument, finding that Dugan did not present sufficient evidence that she had the authority to assert such a privilege in this context. In his ruling, Adelman wrote that Dugan could not avoid criminal liability for obstruction by claiming she was acting on behalf of the court.
The defense’s case was also weakened by statements she made following the incident with ICE. The courtroom audio recording caught her telling her clerk, “I’ll do it. I’ll take the heat.” She also told Cervera she was “in the doghouse” with the chief judge because she “tried to help that guy.”