Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan files motion to dismiss federal obstruction case, citing judicial immunity
- Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, indicted for allegedly aiding an undocumented immigrant evade ICE, filed a motion to dismiss, citing judicial immunity and federal overreach.
- Dugan's motion argues her actions are protected by judicial immunity, regardless of motive, and that the prosecution violates the 10th Amendment.
- The case raises similar issues to the 2019 case against Massachusetts Judge Shelley Joseph, whose charges were eventually dropped after Biden's election.
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, indicted on charges of helping an undocumented immigrant elude federal authorities, filed a motion May 14 to dismiss her case, citing judicial immunity and federal overreach by prosecutors.
The motion, coming less than 24 hours after Dugan was indicted by a federal grand jury, sets the stage for a legal battle ahead.
The action comes even before Dugan has entered a plea, which is expected May 15. Usually, motions come later in a case, but her legal team is arguing that the issues of immunity and federalism need to be resolved immediately.
"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," it said.
"The immunity and federalism issues must be resolved swiftly because the government has no basis in law to prosecute her. The prosecution against her is barred."
The motion goes on to call the prosecution "virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional" and calls problems with the case "legion."
Kenneth Gales, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined to comment on the motion.
The motion makes two arguments: that Judge Dugan cannot be prosecuted because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts and that prosecutors were exceeding federal authority in the case.
In support of the immunity claim, the motion cites a U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving then former-President Donald Trump.
“Judges are entitled to absolute immunity for their judicial acts, without regard to the motive with which those acts are allegedly performed," the motion says.
In addition to immunity, the motion says the prosecution violates the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which covers states' rights. It argues the charges are a federal overreach.
"The government’s prosecution here reaches directly into a state courthouse, disrupting active proceedings, and interferes with the official duties of an elected judge," it says.
The motion is the first legal shot filed by Dugan's high-powered defense team. Dugan is represented by four law firms. So far seven attorneys are listed on federal court file. New to her team is well-known defense attorney Dean Strang, who was featured in the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer" about Steven Avery.
It was announced earlier that former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement was joining the team, and that was confirmed in a filing.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman. The next step will be for the government to respond to the defense motion. Depending on the ruling, the issue could end up being appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The case stems from the arrest of Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18. Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan's court on three counts of misdemeanor battery.
According to the indictment and federal criminal complaint, Dugan helped Flores-Ruiz escape arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who had a warrant seeking deportation.
Another judge escorted five of the six federal officers to the chief judge's chambers to show the warrant. That is when Dugan directed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave her courtroom by a door reserved for jurors, according to the charges. That juror door leads out to the same hallway as the main door. One federal agent was still in the hall, saw Flores-Ruiz and his attorney leave and followed them.
Agents eventually chased Flores-Ruiz down outside the courthouse and apprehended him, according to the criminal complaint. His arrest was part of a federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants by Trump officials.
Federal authorities arrested Dugan in the courthouse a week later.
In the motion, Dugan's team argues that everything Dugan did on April 18 is shielded because she is a judge. Even if she did what the prosecutors allege, the motion says, she cannot be prosecuted.
"Judge Dugan's subjective motivations are irrelevant to immunity," the motion says.
The Dugan case echoes 2019 federal charges against Massachusetts Judge Shelley Joseph, who was accused of helping an undocumented immigrant escape federal arrest under the first Trump administration. Joseph's team made an immunity claim as well.
The case ultimately was dropped after Joe Biden was elected president, though Joseph still faces a hearing before the state judicial oversight commission.
(This story was updated to add new information.)