Remember that judge in Milwaukee who tried to help a defendant in her courtroom escape from ICE? That was Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, who, back in April, helped usher an illegal migrant and his lawyer out of the courthouse to evade arrest by immigration officials. 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 to arrest him. The duo didn’t get far, and neither is Ms. Dugan, in her attempts to have the case dismissed.
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected her arguments and upheld the July decision by another judge who had also allowed the case to proceed. Adelman said:
[T]here 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.’
Dugan remains charged with both concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor, and obstruction, which is a felony. If convicted on both, she faces up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.
For more, see the Associated Press.