MADISON, Wis. — A motion to dismiss the case was filed by a Wisconsin judge accused of aiding a man in the country illegally to avoid U.S. immigration agents trying to apprehend him at her courthouse. The motion, submitted on Wednesday, argues that there is no legal basis for the charges.
Legal representatives for Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan contend that her actions on the relevant day were limited to directing individuals’ movements in and around her courtroom. They assert that she is protected by legal immunity for acts carried out in her capacity as a judge. The defense points to a Supreme Court ruling from last year in the case concerning former President Donald Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 election. The ruling stated that former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts falling within their exclusive constitutional authority and are presumed to be immune for all official acts.
“The prosecution against Judge Dugan is plagued with numerous issues, but fundamentally, she cannot be prosecuted due to judicial immunity covering her official actions,” the motion argues. “Immunity does not serve as a defense to be determined at a later point by a court or jury; it serves as an absolute obstacle to prosecution from the outset.”
The judge overseeing her case is Lynn Adelman, a former Democratic state senator. Former President Bill Clinton appointed him to the bench in 1997.
Kenneth Gales, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Milwaukee, declined to comment on the motion.
Federal prosecutors charged Dugan in April with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. A grand jury indicted her on the same charges on Tuesday. She faces up to six years in prison if convicted of both counts.
Her attorneys insist Dugan is innocent. She’s expected to enter a not guilty plea at her arraignment Thursday.
Dugan’s arrest has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and Democrats over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats contend that Dugan’s arrest went too far and that the administration is trying to make an example out of her to discourage judicial opposition to the crackdown.
Dugan’s case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a courthouse back door to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent. That case was eventually dismissed.
According to prosecutors, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013. He was charged in March with misdemeanor domestic violence in Milwaukee County and was in Dugan’s courtroom for a hearing in that case on April 18.
Dugan’s clerk alerted her that immigration agents were in the courthouse looking to arrest Flores-Ruiz, prosecutors allege in court documents. According to an affidavit, Dugan became visibly angry at the agents’ arrival and called the situation “absurd.” After discussing the warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest with the agents, Dugan demanded that they speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom.
She then returned to the courtroom, was heard saying something to the effect of “wait, come with me,” and then showed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a back door, the affidavit says. The immigration agents eventually detained Flores-Ruiz outside the building following a foot chase.
Dugan’s dismissal motion also accuses the federal government of violating Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.
“The government’s prosecution here reaches directly into a state courthouse, disrupting active proceedings, and interferes with the official duties of an elected judge,” the motion states.
The state Supreme Court suspended Dugan from the bench last month, saying the move was necessary to preserve public confidence in the judiciary. A reserve judge is filling in for her.
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