The Milwaukee County judge facing federal criminal charges after she allegedly helped a man evade immigration enforcement last month pleaded not guilty Thursday.
The move comes after attorneys for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan filed a motion to dismiss the case Wednesday, the day after a federal grand jury found probable cause to bring federal criminal charges against her.
Dugan, who was arrested April 25, appeared for her preliminary hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Thursday morning in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries.
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The hearing was quick, only lasting five minutes. Even so, the courtroom was packed.
Dries set the pretrial date for July 9, while the jury trial is set for July 21. That trial will be overseen by District Judge Lynn Adelman, a former Democratic Wisconsin state senator.
After the hearing, Dugan’s attorney Steven Biskupic declined to comment. Biskupic is a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Outside of the courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, more than 100 protesters gathered before the hearing to speak out against Dugan’s arrest.
“Judge Dugan followed the law,” one sign said. “ICE ignores it to serve a felon.”
According to a federal criminal complaint, Dugan allegedly attempted to help a man avoid arrest by immigration officials in her courtroom April 18. She was arrested and charged with obstructing or impeding a proceeding, a felony, and concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest, a misdemeanor.
Federal authorities have said Dugan’s arrest shows that no one is above the law.
Fred Lomire came to the protest from his home in Racine. Outside the courthouse he was carrying a large flag with the slogan “No Kings in America.”
“I think it was the right thing to do,” Lomire said of Dugan’s alleged action in her courtroom.
“You can’t just hand people over and just have them disappear, no due process or any of that sort of thing,” Lomire added. “It’s like they’re out hunting people.”
A group of Unitarian Universalist church leaders from congregations across Wisconsin showed up for the protest. The Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom of First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee said one of her congregants was “in tears” over Dugan’s arrest.
“When I heard about what Judge Dugan did, protecting another human being with inherent worth, I felt really proud,” Nordstrom said.
Deisy España, a member of the immigrant rights group Voces De La Frontera, called Dugan’s arrest an “attack on the immigrant community.”
España, a Milwaukee resident, said she believes Dugan will be found not guilty.
“I think this is going to set a precedent to … the future for any other judges or lawyers or anyone who chooses to essentially do their job,” España said.
Dugan, who was elected in April 2016, was suspended by the Wisconsin Supreme Court after charges were filed. She is not currently hearing cases in Milwaukee County.
John Gross, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said he wasn’t surprised by the grand jury indictment.
“The prosecutor has an enormous amount of control over that proceeding, and so it’s never surprising to hear that a grand jury voted to indict,” Gross said.
However, in the motion to dismiss, Dugan’s attorneys argued she has “judicial immunity.” The motion to dismiss said the arrest was, “virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional.”
“The problems with this prosecution are legion, but most immediately, the government cannot prosecute Judge Dugan because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts,” the motion states. “Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset.”
The federal complaint said agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration were in Dugan’s courtroom on April 18 to serve an administrative arrest warrant on Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was in her courtroom facing misdemeanor charges of battery related to domestic violence.
Dugan allegedly directed the man to leave the courtroom through a back door that was intended for jurors. The man was later chased down and arrested outside of the courthouse, according to the complaint.
The indictment said Dugan told the attorney for Flores-Ruiz that he could appear for his next court date on Zoom.
Nick Rommel of Wisconsin Public Radio contributed to this report.
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