Hannah Dugan is the Milwaukee judge who is facing trial next month over her decision to help a criminal migrant dodge an arrest. There was an initial surge of resistance to prosecuting Dugan after her arrest but since then two different federal judges have looked at her case and decided the case should not be dismissed. The first of those was Judge Nancy Joseph:
Joseph wrote in her recommendation that while judges have immunity from civil lawsuits seeking monetary damages when engaging in judicial acts, that does not apply to criminal charges like those in this case.
“A judge’s actions, even when done in her official capacity, does not bar criminal prosecution if the actions were done in violation of the criminal law,” Joseph wrote.
Judge Joseph’s recommendation was then handed over to District Judge Lynn Adelman who made the final decision not to dismiss the case in August. The case is scheduled to begin next month and already the initial preparation to seat a jury is taking place.
The federal case against Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan is entering an important phase as jury selection begins for her December 15 trial…
So far,114 people have returned written responses out of 128 sent to potential jurors. That number will be reduced as lawyers from each side get chances to strike potential jurors from the list. The goal is to have a potential jury pool of a few dozen when final jury selection begins Dec. 11, just days before the trial.
The court needs 12 jurors with two to three alternates for the trial.
Last Friday, prosecutors submitted more evidence for the upcoming trial. Included in the latest filing was a reference to another judge who said she was uncomfortable when Judge Dugan brought her along to confront an arrest team waiting in the hallway for criminal migrant Eduardo Flores Ruiz.
Prosecutors say Dugan’s clerk warned her about the agents outside the courtroom. Minutes later, Dugan reportedly told another judge to “come with me” to “check for a warrant,” instructing the other judge to “keep her robe on.”
Surveillance footage from the courthouse hallway shows Dugan confronting federal agents, with the other judge standing next to her.
According to the documents, prosecutors say the other judge was “uncomfortable with Judge Dugan’s behavior and tone,” which witnesses described as “heated,” “visually upset,” “yelling,” and a “mix of anger and irritation.”
After agents cleared the hallway, prosecutors say Dugan returned to her courtroom and led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through the private jury door.
Judges usually don’t wear their robes outside of their courtrooms. Indeed, one of the issues in this case is the degree to which the hallways outside of the courtrooms are seen as a public space where other law enforcement officers, like the arrest team, are allowed to operate. Had the arrest team tried to enter Judge Dugan’s courtroom, there would be little doubt she was allowed to expel them. But by confronting the team in the hallway while wearing her robe, she was essentially trying to use her authority outside the space that authority is normally used.
Federal prosecutors have provided the fullest picture to date of how they allege Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan helped an undocumented immigrant elude federal agents, including the judge telling a colleague afterwards that she was “in the doghouse because I tried to help that guy.”
The Nov. 7 motion by prosecutors includes many familiar details, but also features new information that could be crucial during the trial, which begins Dec. 15.
The filing includes new comments allegedly made by Dugan and others in the courtroom after she realized a defendant set to appear before her on battery charges that day, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was the target of federal agents.
According to prosecutors, an unidentified person in court said that Flores-Ruiz and his attorney may not know how to get out a staff exit, to which Dugan responds, “I’ll do it. I’ll get the heat.” She then leads Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to a door leading to a back hallway not used by the public.
The comment about taking the heat was first revealed in early August. At the time it was considered significant because it appears to demonstrate that she knew she was pushing boundaries when she tried to help Flores-Ruiz escape.
Speaking of Flores-Ruiz, he did not escape but was chased down outside the courthouse thanks to one member of the arrest team who remained in the hallway and saw him getting on an elevator with his lawyer.
In September, Flores-Ruiz pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the country and was given a sentence of time served. He is expected to be deported any day now.
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, has spent nearly seven months in jail since he was arrested outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse. He pleaded guilty in September to illegally reentering the country after he reached a deal with prosecutors to not fight deportation. Prosecutors in exchange agreed to recommend a time-served sentence.
U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper handed down the sentence during a hearing on Nov. 5 in Milwaukee, warning him that he would face harsher penalties if he ever returns.
“I very much hope you can find a way to make a living back home rather than coming back here,” she told Flores-Ruiz.
Martin Pruhs, Flores-Ruiz’s attorney, said in an email to The Associated Press on Nov. 6 that Flores-Ruiz is currently in custody at the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, awaiting deportation in “the near future.” The attorney declined further comment.
He will not be in the U.S. by the time Judge Dugan’s trial begins. But will it begin? There don’t seem to be any more procedural hurdles at this point, but Judge Dugan could decide it’s time to make a plea deal to avoid the worst possible consequences. The case against her appears pretty strong and she could get actual jail time if convicted. I don’t think that’s likely but probation, fines and an ongoing suspension of her duties as a judge. Those all seem like real possibilities. Wouldn’t she rather just make a formal apology, pay a token fine and go back to work?
Some observers have suggested a local jury is likely to play politics with this case, making her chances of a conviction low. Maybe that’s what she’s counting on.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
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