MADISON, Wis. — A judge in Wisconsin, accused of aiding a man in avoiding arrest by U.S. immigration officials, lost her effort on Tuesday to dismiss the Trump administration’s case against her, though she still has another chance to appeal.
The case against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan illustrates President Donald Trump’s administration’s effort to challenge state and local entities that oppose his broad immigration enforcement initiatives.
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Democrats have claimed that the Trump administration is using Dugan’s case to set a national precedent and deter judicial opposition to its deportation strategies.
Dugan was taken into custody at the county courthouse in April and was federally indicted in May. She swiftly filed a motion to have the charges dropped, contending that her actions were in her official capacity as a judge and thus she should be immune from prosecution.
However, on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman dismissed that argument, supporting a July recommendation from a magistrate judge who also determined that the case should move forward.
Adelman stated that the dispute centers on Dugan’s assertion that there is a general immunity rule for judges from prosecution, with a few limited exceptions, whereas the government argues that the exceptions mentioned are merely examples of prosecution types that have been initiated.
“A review of the relevant history reveals the government has the better of the argument,” Adelman wrote.
He said that “the particulars of this case may be unusual,” but “there is no firmly established judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution of judges for judicial acts. 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.'”
Attorneys for Dugan had no immediate comment.
Adelman’s decision could be appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He scheduled a hearing in the case for Sept. 3.
Dugan has pleaded not guilty to helping the man in the country illegally try to evade authorities. No trial date has been set. She faces up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine if convicted on both counts.
In a motion in May to dismiss the charges, Dugan argued that the federal government violated Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.
Dugan also argued that the prosecution under federal law violated the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers because it overrides the state of Wisconsin’s ability to administer its courts.
The judge rejected her arguments.
Dugan is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor, and obstruction, which is a felony. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back door on April 18 after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking to arrest him for being in the country without permanent legal status.
Agents arrested Flores-Ruiz outside the courthouse after a brief foot chase.
Milwaukee police last week released body camera footage of Dugan saying she didn’t know Flores-Ruiz was in the country illegally. The comments were captured three days before her arrest in April after Dugan called police because of potentially threatening flyers she and family members had received.
The footage shows Dugan telling police that media reports had been swirling about how she supposedly “hid” Flores-Ruiz in her courtroom. She goes on to say that she didn’t know the person in her courtroom that day was in the country illegally and she denied giving him special treatment.
“It’s all lies,” Dugan told officers. She later said, “I didn’t do anything that they’re saying.”
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.
This story has been updated to correct the U.S. district judge’s name to Lynn Adelman, not Lynne.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
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