Advocates raise alarms after Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan found guilty of obstruction
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Defenders Wisconsin judge found guilty A felony obstruction order charging a Mexican immigrant with helping him evade federal officers raised alarms about judicial independence Friday and said they hoped the conviction would be overturned on appeal.
Jury finds Milwaukee County District Judge Hannah Dugan after being found guilty on Thursday night. four day trial and six hours of negotiation. The jury found him not guilty of the charge of concealing the crime. As of Friday morning, no sentencing date had been set. He could face a maximum prison sentence of five years.
The decision was a victory for President Donald Trump, whose administration brought charges against Dugan and announced her arrest earlier this year, releasing photos of her being led away in handcuffs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche praised the verdict on X, saying no one, not even judges, is above the law.
The case has raised tensions over Trump’s immigration crackdown, with the Trump administration branding Dugan an activist judge and Democrats countering that the administration is trying to emulate Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to the operation.
U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, a former Republican Wisconsin attorney general and judge, denied the case was political and urged people to accept the verdict peacefully.
“Some tried to turn this into a bigger political fight,” Schimel said. “While this case is serious for everyone involved, it is ultimately about one day, one bad day, at the courthouse. The defendant is by no means a bad person. He is not a martyr for a greater cause.”
Dugan’s defense attorney told the jury in his closing statement that “the highest levels of government” were involved in bringing the charges against Dugan. But prosecutors argued that Dugan put his personal beliefs above the law.
“You don’t have to agree with immigration enforcement policy to see that this is wrong,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Brown Watzka told the jury in her closing statement. “You must accept that the law applies equally to everyone.”
Dugan did not testify. Dugan and his attorneys left the courtroom, went to a side conference room and closed the door without speaking to reporters.
His lead attorney, Steve Biskupic, later said he was disappointed with the verdict and did not understand how the jury could reach a split verdict since the elements of both charges were nearly identical.
Dugan’s lawyers were expected to appeal the decision.
A coalition of 13 advocacy groups, including Common Cause Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said “supreme courts should carefully consider the serious constitutional questions this case raises about due process, jurisdiction, and federal overreach.”
Dugan’s sentence has been announced He served as a judge after his indictment, and the Wisconsin Constitution prohibited felons from holding office. The Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which oversees the discipline of judges in the state, did not respond Friday to a request for information about what will happen next in Dugan’s case.
on April 18 immigration officers go to Milwaukee County courthouse After learning that 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had re-entered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in his state battery case.
Dugan confronted the agents outside the courtroom and, after they left, ushered Flores-Ruiz and her attorney out the special jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the hallway, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The US Department of Homeland Security announced in November He was deported.
