A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a motion to dismiss criminal charges against Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade federal authorities by escorting him out of her courtroom through a side door.<\/p>\n
Judge Dugan\u2019s defense argued that the case violated judicial immunity and represented federal overreach. However, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied the motion in a 27-page order, moving the case closer to trial. Dugan was arrested in April and charged with obstruction of justice after allegedly shielding Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant involved in an assault case, from ICE agents.<\/p>\n
Video footage from April 18 shows Dugan, wearing her robes, speaking with ICE agents outside her courtroom. Shortly after, agents are seen walking away through a door Dugan reportedly directed them to. Meanwhile, Flores-Ruiz and his attorney exited the courtroom through a restricted hallway typically reserved for jurors. Another camera later captured Flores-Ruiz running from the courthouse before being apprehended about a block away.<\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors argue the video proves Dugan intentionally interfered with federal efforts to detain Flores-Ruiz. She was indicted by a grand jury on May 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on both counts of obstruction outlined in the indictment.<\/p>\n
In his ruling, Judge Adelman cited U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph\u2019s earlier recommendation to deny dismissal. \u201cThere is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations… describe conduct that could be considered \u2018part of a judge\u2019s job,\u2019\u201d Adelman wrote, comparing the case to valid bribery prosecutions involving official acts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a motion to dismiss criminal charges against Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented immigrant… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n