There will be no prison time for former Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan. She was convicted in December of obstructing immigration agents as they attempted to arrest an undocumented defendant outside her courtroom. At the July 8 sentencing hearing, a federal judge said Dugan must pay a $5,000 fine.
This case stemmed from an April 2025 hearing in Dugan’s courtroom. That’s when an undocumented immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was set to appear on misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
Federal agents came to arrest him in the courthouse, and Dugan sent them to the chief judge’s office. She let Flores-Ruiz out a private door into a restricted hallway and he was arrested outside after a brief foot chase. He has since been deported.
A month later, it was Dugan being arrested in handcuffs and charged. During her trial in December, a jury found her guilty of obstructing a proceeding — a felony — and not guilty of concealing an individual to prevent arrest — a misdemeanor. Dugan later resigned from her job, amid threats of impeachment from Republican lawmakers.
Dugan’s defense attorneys had argued that courthouse policy on immigration arrests was unsettled and that President Donald Trump's administration was making an example of Dugan so that judges would get in line with its immigration crackdown.
Prosecutors said that judges can’t disregard the law for personal beliefs, and that Dugan’s actions made Flores-Ruiz’s arrest more dangerous. They asked that she be sentenced to 15 to 21 months in prison.
However, federal judge Lynn Adelman said Dugan’s actions were a momentary deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life and not for personal gain. He noted all the work Dugan has done in service of the poor and marginalized, as well as the letters and testimony in support of her character. He ordered Dugan to pay a $5,000 fine.
Dugan’s defense attorney Jason Luczak says it was the right call. "She’s lost so much throughout this process," he said. "The collateral consequences to her were great, and we appreciate that the judge took that into consideration when he sentenced her to a fine only in this case."
Wisconsin criminal defense attorney Tony Cotton says the prosecutors and the defense team were all top-notch lawyers.
"They all had their day in court, jury split the verdict, and then Judge Adelman had to decide after all of this, after a year plus of turmoil and public humiliation and being brought into court and being shackled and hauled out of the courthouse in front of your colleagues — was there the need to send Hannah to prison? He concluded no," says Cotton. "I think most people who look at this case realistically understand that what she suffered is so significant and extraordinary that the sentence is just at the end of the day."
He also says that federal judge and Clinton-appointee Adelman had the opportunity to grant defense motions and dismiss this case, but didn’t do that. "He felt that the motion shouldn't carry the day, that there was enough evidence here to go in front of a jury. So he respected that system and allowed that process to play out," says Cotton.
Meanwhile, Dugan’s attorneys said they’ll appeal her conviction. Dugan says she’ll dedicate herself to unfinished work, focusing on justice initiatives, voting rights and civics education.
