Federal judge lets stand ex-Wisconsin judge's conviction for aiding ICE evasion
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman declined on Tuesday to overturn the obstruction-of-justice conviction of former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan, letting the verdict stand, The Hill reported . Adelman had postponed Dugan’s sentencing on June 3 to weigh arguments that the conviction should be thrown out, but ruled this week that it would hold.
Dugan, who resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court after her conviction, was found guilty of helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz leave her courthouse to avoid immigration officers who had arrived to arrest him. Her attorney argued the conviction was invalid; the judge rejected that claim.
The case has been an early test of how courts respond to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push, particularly the question of how far judicial and local officials can go in declining to assist federal agents. With the conviction upheld, Dugan now faces sentencing, and the ruling signals that courtroom conduct interfering with ICE arrests can draw federal criminal liability.