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There will be no prison time for former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan. She was convicted in December of obstructing immigration agents as they attempted to arrest an undocumented defendant outside her courtroom. Instead, at today's sentencing hearing, a federal judge said Dugan must pay a $5,000 fine. Maayan Silver from member station WUWM reports.
MAAYAN SILVER, BYLINE: This case stemmed from an April 2025 hearing in Dugan's courtroom. That's when an undocumented immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was set to appear on misdemeanor domestic violence charges. Federal agents came to arrest him in the courthouse, and Dugan sent them to the chief judge's office. She let Flores-Ruiz out a private door into a restricted hallway. And he was arrested outside after a brief foot chase. He has since been deported. A month later, it was Dugan being arrested in handcuffs and charged.
During her trial in December, a jury found her guilty of obstructing a proceeding - a felony - and not guilty of concealing an individual to prevent arrest - a misdemeanor. Dugan later resigned from her job amid threats of impeachment from Republican lawmakers. Dugan's defense attorneys had argued that courthouse policy on immigration arrests was unsettled and that President Donald Trump's administration was making an example of Dugan so that judges would get in line with its immigration crackdown.
Prosecutors said that judges can't disregard the law for personal beliefs and that Dugan's actions made Flores-Ruiz's arrest more dangerous. They asked that she be sentenced to 15 to 21 months in prison. However, federal Judge Lynn Adelman said Dugan's actions were a momentary deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life and not for personal gain. He ordered the former judge to pay a $5,000 fine. Dugan's defense attorney, Jason Luczak, said it was the right call.
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JASON LUCZAK: She's lost so much throughout this process. The collateral consequences to her were great. And we appreciate that the judge took that into consideration whenever he sentenced her to a fine only in this case.
SILVER: It's rare for a sitting judge to be charged with a crime. And Wisconsin defense attorney Tony Cotton notes that federal Judge Adelman had the opportunity to grant defense motions and dismiss this case, but he didn't do that.
TONY COTTON: He felt that their - that the motion shouldn't carry the day, that there was enough evidence here to go in front of a jury. So he respected that system and he allowed that process to play out.
SILVER: Meanwhile, Dugan's attorneys said they'll appeal her conviction. For NPR News, I'm Maayan Silver in Milwaukee. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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