Court denies motion to dismiss charges against WI judge
By: John Diedrich
and Daniel Bice
Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel
USA Today Network - Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE - U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman has denied a motion to dismiss the federal case against Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugen, clearing the way for a trial on charges she obstructed immigration officers who came to her courtroom to make an arrest.
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Adelman trued back the arguments of Dugan's legal team that the judge was immune from prosecution and that the case was an example of judicial overreach.
..... Adelman's ruling agrees with the report of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph, who recommended t=in early July [2025] that the Dugen case should not be dismissed. Joseph issued her report after Dugen's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss, saying that judges are immune from prosecutions when acting in their official capacity. Adelman cited Joseph's report several times in his ruling.
..... "There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be consider 'part of the judge's job,' " Adelman wrote in the 27-page ruling.
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"As the magistrate judge noted, the same is true in the bribery prosecution, concededly valid, where the judges were prosecuted for performing official acts intertwined with bribery."
..... Adelman, 85, was appointed by President Bill Clinton and is considered among the most liberal federal judges in the nation.
..... In his decision, Adelman rejected the defense's attempt to tie this case to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sided with President Donald Trump's argument that he was immune form prosecution when he acted in his official capacity.
..... Adelman also rejected Dugan's argument that her arrest and prosecution was a violation of the separation between state and federal powers under the U.S. constitution.
..... Adelman scheduled a hearing on September 3 [2025] in his courtroom in downtown Milwaukee.
..... In a statement, Dugan's legal team said: "while we're disappointed by this decisions, we look forward to the trial, which will show Judge Dugan did nothing wrong and simply treated this case like any other in fort of her courtroom."
..... The statement did not make clear whether Dugan plan to appeal the decision.
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The U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
..... Dugan was indicted May 13 [2025] on charges she obstructed a federal agency and tried to help undocumented immigrant Eduarod Flores-Ruiz escape federal agents at the Milwaukee county Courthouse on April 18. [2025] she pleaded not guilty. A trial was scheduled for July [2025] but was canceled as the motion to dismiss advanced.
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Federal prosecutors backed Joseph's recommendation, saying the defense was mis-characterizing previous court decisions.
..... They also argued that the criminal charges arose from her :unilateral, non-judicial and unofficial actions outside the role of a Wisconsin state judge." If convicted, Dugan faces up to six years in prison, but first-time nonviolent offenders typically get shorter sentences or probation.
..... Flores-Ruiz has agreed to plead guilty to having entered the United States illegally after being deported in 2013, according to federal court records.