Former Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan escapes prison and returns to court
Former Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan was fined $5,000 and given no jail time. She was convicted of interfering with federal immigration officials.
MILWAUKEE — A former Wisconsin judge received no jail time or probation after being found guilty July 8 of interfering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who tried to arrest him outside a courtroom.
Former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, 67, was convicted of a felony in December 2025 for helping a man flee from immigration authorities. During sentencing on July 8, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said prison and probation were unnecessary, noting that Dugan was a public servant and was not at risk of reoffending.
The judge fined her $5,000, saying the sentence was appropriate for “a few minutes’ worth of actions” by someone who dedicated her life to helping the poor. Under federal sentencing guidelines, a pre-sentence report suggests a sentence of 15 to 20 months in prison. The maximum penalty was five years in prison.
“This is a case of a good man, upset by this country’s immigration crackdown, a widely shared sentiment, and made the wrong decision in the heat of the moment,” Adelman said during sentencing.
Adelman, a former Democratic state lawmaker who was nominated by former President Bill Clinton, said Dugan has suffered a number of consequences, including losing his job, being forced to move and withdrawing from public life, which would amount to “significant punishment” regardless of the sentence.
Dugan announced earlier this year that he would step down as a judge after nine years, after facing calls from Republican state lawmakers to impeach him and remove him from the bench. The case thrust the Milwaukee native to the front lines of a clash between local judges and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.
“I’m just a guy trying to do my job.”
Dugan spoke in front of a packed courtroom, breaking a silence that had lasted more than a year. The former judge said he was trying to do the right thing on the day ICE agents were outside the courtroom.
At the time, people were afraid to come to court for fear of encountering immigration officials, she said.
“I’ve been cast as both the blamer and the hero. I’m neither. I’m just a guy trying to do my job,” Dugan said, at one point getting choked up when talking to Adelman.
Ms Dugan did not apologize for her actions but said she took the conviction seriously, adding that she came to court with a “heavy heart”. Because of the incident, Duggan said she had to stop her habit of attending community events, but she would like to do so again.
“I intend to contribute to civic life and focus on service,” Dugan said. “I will not let that moment on April 18 define my life.”
“She lost a lot. … The collateral impact on her was significant, and we appreciate that the judge (Adelman) took that into consideration,” Jason Ruzak, one of Dugan’s attorneys, said after the verdict.
Lawyer for former Wisconsin judge to appeal conviction
In December 2025, a jury found Dugan guilty of the felony charge of obstructing federal immigration proceedings, but not guilty of the misdemeanor charge of concealing a fugitive, which ICE agents were seeking to apprehend.
Ruzak said his team will appeal Dugan’s conviction and advance “arguments that we think were correct all along.” The defense plans to appeal the case to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
At the appeals court, Dugan’s lawyers may advance arguments they have made since the indictment. They argued that the case should be dismissed for several reasons, including that Mr. Dugan had judicial immunity and that the nuisance statute had been misapplied.
Mr. Dugan’s lawyers may also pursue Mr. Adelman’s jury instructions, arguing that they are incorrect.
The government pointed out that it was not acceptable.
In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling agreed that Dugan has lived a life of service and has suffered the consequences, but the veteran federal prosecutor noted that she and her defense team have not taken any responsibility for her actions.
Frohling said the defense continues to justify Dugan’s actions as rational or to blame others.
“So this situation is a little different,” Frohling said, adding that the ruling addresses “the broader systemic harm that occurs when judges obstruct the administration of justice.”
“Mr. Dugan’s reckless and illegal actions thwarted that goal and posed unnecessary risks to all involved,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimmel said in a statement after the sentencing. “For that to happen, there had to be serious consequences.”
One of Dugan’s lawyers, Steve Biskupic, said every judge in the country knows what happened to Dugan, who was arrested on the job, handcuffed and taken to two courthouses. He said she has become a “figurehead” in the battle between the Trump administration and local judges.
“What more deterrence do we need?” Biskupic said. “Will any judge look at this case and say, “Yes, please sign up for Hannah Dugan’s treatment?”
Ms Dugan’s team submitted nearly 20 letters of support from various sources, saying she had been “sufficiently punished”. Janine Geske, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and current faculty member at Marquette Law School, and Gregory P. O’Meara, president of the Marquette University Jesuit Community, spoke on Dugan’s behalf.
Both cited her decades of service to the underprivileged, fueled by her Catholic faith. Geske said Dugan has long been a quiet force for the poor, more powerful than any judge she knows.
“Everywhere she went, she worked for the poor and the disabled,” Geske said.
First case of this kind to go to trial
The case against Dugan began on April 18, 2025, when ICE agents came to Dugan’s courtroom to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who had illegally reentered the United States and was scheduled to appear in court on assault charges.
According to a criminal complaint, six members of the Milwaukee ICE Task Force went to the county courthouse in plain clothes around 8 a.m. local time and arrested Flores-Ruiz. They then informed the bailiff in Dugan’s courtroom of their planned arrest and agreed to wait until after his court appearance.
According to the video, Dugan and another judge questioned the warrant and ordered him to be taken to the presiding judge’s office. Mr. Dugan returned to the courtroom, called Mr. Flores-Ruiz’s case, and ushered him and his attorney into a hallway reserved for staff and jurors.
Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer appeared in a public hallway. Two officers who were still in the hall pursued Flores-Ruiz and eventually arrested him after a brief foot chase outside the courthouse.
Mr. Dugan was arrested by FBI agents on April 25 and charged with interfering with a federal employee. Her arrest sparked protests across Milwaukee, including outside the federal courthouse and outside the FBI field office.
Contributors: Isabella Russomanno, Zachary Suri, Daniel Bice, Vanessa Swales, milwaukee journal sentinel
