A judge in Wisconsin is set to stand trial on Monday, after she allegedly tried to help an illegal immigrant evade deportation earlier this year.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan faces charges of obstruction and “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” after she allegedly escorted  31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out of a back door of her courtroom so he would not be apprehended by immigration agents waiting to detain him.

Here’s what to know:

The Escape Attempt

According to a government affidavit, Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan’s court on April 18, awaiting a hearing on three counts of domestic abuse.

After a courtroom deputy learned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were at the hearing to take Flores-Ruiz into custody, he asked them to wait outside and arrest him when the hearing was over.

They agreed.

But when Judge Dugan learned about the immigration officials, she “became visibly angry, commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers,” according to witnesses.

Dugan and another judge then confronted the immigration officials, telling them that their administrative warrant was not sufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz; they needed a judicial warrant. She told the group of officers that they needed to speak to the Chief Judge of the courthouse.

While they were being escorted to the Chief Judge’s chambers, Dugan allegedly returned to her courtroom and led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a backroom jury door.

Immigration officers noticed him leaving the building and, after a brief foot chase, arrested him. He was deported in November, the Department of Homeland Security announced.

Judge Says She is Immune

Meanwhile, Judge Dugan was arrested for her part in his attempted escape and indicted by a grand jury in May.

The government says Dugan violated Title 18 U.S.C. Sections 1505 and 1071: obstruction of pending proceedings and concealing a person from arrest. If convicted, she faces six years in prison.

However, Dugan moved to dismiss the case, asserting that she is immune from prosecution for “official acts” done in her courtroom and the courthouse.

“Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset,” she said in a court filing.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected Dugan’s arguments in August and ordered her to stand trial.

“There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job,’” Adelman wrote in his decision.

Upcoming Trial

Dugan’s trial is set to begin Dec. 15, and jury selection is underway. 

Because the case was widely reported in the media—and on social media by FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi—the defense has expressed concern that the judge will not get a fair hearing.

They have sent potential jurors a questionnaire probing which media outlets they use, their political leanings, and which stickers are attached to their vehicles, laptops, and water bottles.

The defense team is asking the judge to exclude audio recordings of the courtroom while the incident took place, on the grounds that the judge was not present and the conversations may prejudice the jury against her.

Her case is similar to a 2018 incident in which Massachusetts District Judge Shelley Joseph and her clerk allegedly helped an illegal immigrant sneak out of a courthouse to avoid detention by ICE agents.

The Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden dropped most of those charges and deferred prosecution of the clerk for perjury in 2022.

—Stacy Robinson

BOOKMARKS

Senators failed to pass two healthcare bills, one put forth by Republicans and the other by Democrats, on Thursday. This means time is running out for the lawmakers to reach a compromise on the Obamacare subsidies, which expire at the end of the month. 

The White House said on Dec, 11 that it intends to keep the oil from a Venezuelan tanker it seized earlier this week. There is “a legal process for the seizure of the oil, and that legal process will be followed,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press conference.  

Scammers impersonating U.S. government workers or law enforcement officers are convincing people to buy gold, then stealing it. Read Allan Stein’s latest report to find out more. 

A 1980 law has allowed attorneys to seek payment from the government if their clients were not rich and a judge determined that federal agency actions against them were “not substantially justified.” John Haughey’s latest report shows how some environmental nonprofits might have abused that system.

A federal judge has ordered the government to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia while his immigration case plays out. The government has been seeking to deport Garcia for months, but has so far failed to do so. 

—Stacy Robinson