Prosecutors alleged that she blocked agents seeking to arrest a man outside her courtroom
A federal grand jury in the US has indicted Milwaukee County circuit judge Hannah Dugan on charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings, reported Reuters.
Prosecutors alleged that Dugan blocked immigration agents who were looking to arrest an undocumented immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, outside her courtroom without a judicial warrant on April 18. Dugan reportedly permitted Flores-Ruiz to leave via a jury door.
Dugan was arrested on April 25. The Wisconsin Supreme Court relieved the judge of her duties in the meantime.
“As she said after her unnecessary arrest, Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court,” attorney Craig Mastantuono, representing Dugan, said in a statement published by Reuters.
President Donald Trump’s administration has extended Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ ability to conduct courthouse arrests; 189 such arrests have been made as of May 6 since Trump took office, Reuters reported.
Immigration advocates and state courts have pushed back, saying that the ICE’s courthouse operations impacted court operations and hindered access to the legal system.
“When litigants stop feeling like they can access justice through the courts, and when the federal government starts taking time away from states administering justice to further their immigration enforcement agenda, it gets tricky under the law,” Albany Law School professor Sarah Rogerson said in a statement published by Reuters.
Additionally, a photo of Dugan’s arrest was posted on social media by FBI director Kash Patel – even though FBI guidelines prohibit the publishing of criminal defendants’ photos without a clear law enforcement purpose, according to Reuters.
“All of this adds to a sense of the judiciary being under attack. Whether or not it’s going to be successful, it’s seen as part of a broader attempt to weaken or delegitimize the judiciary,” said Jeremy Fogel, former California judge and Berkeley Judicial Institute executive director, in a statement published by Reuters.
