Federal Judge Upholds Ex-Wisconsin Judge's Obstruction Conviction

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled Tuesday that Hannah Dugan's obstruction of justice conviction will stand. The former Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge had been found guilty of helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz leave a Milwaukee courtroom before immigration officers could detain him.

Adelman postponed Dugan's sentencing on June 3 to review arguments that the conviction should be overturned. In his June 16 ruling, he declined to do so and did not set a new sentencing date. " Dugan's attorneys had argued that the conviction rested on a Virginia immigration case that a federal appeals court overturned in April.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, escaped, was recaptured, and was indicted on a charge of obstructing a pending immigration proceeding. The appeals court ruled that the ICE action did not constitute a "pending proceeding" under federal obstruction law.

Dugan's attorneys contended that the filing of a warrant does not constitute a "proceeding" under the law. Prosecutors countered that the facts in the Virginia case differ from Dugan's and that other precedents support the conviction. Adelman ruled that the attempted arrest of Flores-Ruiz counted as a "pending proceeding" because it was a planned and targeted operation rather than a random encounter.

Dugan resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court after her conviction. A photograph shows her leaving the federal courthouse in Milwaukee on May 15, 2025. The case against Dugan was an early test of how the courts would respond to President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown.