Hannah Dugan, a former judge from Wisconsin, faces sentencing in federal court this Wednesday after being found guilty of felony obstruction. Her case, which involved assisting a Mexican immigrant in eluding federal officers, became a notable point in the broader immigration crackdown carried out during former President Donald Trump’s administration.
Dugan, aged 67, was convicted by a jury on December 19 and now risks up to five years behind bars. Following the conviction, she resigned from her role as a Milwaukee County circuit judge two weeks later, in the shadow of impeachment threats from Republican state legislators. Her judicial career spanned nine years.
Trump administration tried to make an example out of Milwaukee judge
The case against Dugan was initiated by the Trump administration amid an intensified strategy by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants attending court hearings nationwide. Republicans have criticized Dugan as an activist judge, while her legal team argued that the administration aimed to “crush her” to enforce strict compliance with its immigration policies.
In response to Dugan’s conviction, Republican U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, a staunch Trump supporter and gubernatorial candidate for Wisconsin, took to social media, calling for her imprisonment.
Ahead of the sentencing, Dugan’s legal representatives have chosen not to issue any comments. Although she refrained from testifying during her trial, they revealed that she will address the court on Wednesday, marking her first public statement concerning the case in over a year.
Prosecutors push for ‘serious sentence’
Dugan’s attorneys argued that as a judge she was immune from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, who will hand down the sentence, has rejected attempts by Dugan to vacate her obstruction conviction.
Prosecutors argued in a sentencing memo filed last week that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.
“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,” Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that line.”
Dugan’s attorneys argued she has been “punished enough,” including resigning as a judge and facing threats of violence. They argued in her sentencing memo that she should not be sentenced to any jail time besides the part of one day she already spent in federal custody.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, the presentence report calls for 15 to 21 months behind bars. The judge is not bound by those guidelines.
Prosecutors said the average sentence for obstruction cases is 16 months, but they did not recommend a sentence.
“This was a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence,” Frohling wrote.
No matter what she is sentenced to, Dugan’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal.
Dugan’s case was a first for Wisconsin
Dugan’s case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents. While convicting her of the felony obstruction charge, jurors found her not guilty of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.
On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.
Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.