Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan avoids jail time for obstructing arrest of illegal immigrant

Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was ordered Wednesday to pay a $5,000 fine for obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant at a courthouse but will not serve any prison time.

"I think this is a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment," said U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.

Dugan, 66, was convicted of felony obstruction last year after federal agents attempted to serve a warrant to Eduardo Flores-Ruiz on April 18, 2025. She was acquitted of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor. She faced up to five years in prison. 

Prosecutors had asked that Dugan be sentenced to between 15 and 21 months. 

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Dugan addressed the case against her on Wednesday just before Adelman imposed her sentence, defending her actions and announcing she intends to "return to public service." 

"My acts that day were consistent with community concerns at the courthouse," Dugan said. "My judicial acts were not done with any malicious intent or to advance any personal interests.

"Since the government's arrest of me, I was forced to retire. … In January, I resigned from my office so the constituents would have a judge in my branch to begin the year," she added. "I have been cast as a scofflaw and as a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job. Your honor, I will not let those minutes on April 18, 2025, define my life's work."

In January, Dugan resigned from the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers, who labeled her an activist judge.

Before her sentencing, several people testified on her behalf. 

"Hannah models what it means to be Christian," said Rev. Gregory J. O'Meara, a Jesuit priest, lawyer and law professor who met Dugan at the University of Wisconsin's law school. "We've made arrangements to hold services for her privately because she's been hassled. I do not think there is a need for further punishment, deterrence, retribution or reform."

Janine Geske, a law professor at Marquette University, said Dugan's life wasn't "completely defined by her work."

"She has been punished by being handcuffed … by being in the media. … All she loves to do is share with others," Geske said. "She has lost her profession and her income, and she's here humbly to ask you to give her the opportunity to return to the community."

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On the day of the incident, ICE agents appeared at the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Flores-Ruiz, 31, had reentered the United States illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state domestic violence case. 

Upon learning ICE agents were in the building, Dugan confronted them outside her courtroom, arguing their administrative warrant was insufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz. She told the agents to go to the chief judge's office down the hall and then directed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave her courtroom through a back door, federal prosecutors said. 

Flores-Ruiz was spotted moments later by the agents, who followed him outside and arrested him after a brief foot chase.

Dugan's lawyers argued that she was shielded from prosecution because of her position as a judge. However, Adelman rejected the argument. 

"What judges around the country are looking at this case and saying, 'Yes, Sign me up?' There won't be a crime wave of judges defying ICE. No judges have acted similarly," Dugan's defense attorney Steve Biskupic said Wednesday in court. 

Prosecutors said Dugan violated her oath as a judge, putting the lives of law enforcement officers and the public at risk, while Republican lawmakers cast her as an activist judge. 

Dugan was arrested by the FBI weeks after the confrontation with ICE and led outside in handcuffs. Flores-Ruiz has since been deported.