The sentencing of former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan has been delayed after a federal judge set oral arguments on a defense motion to throw out the jury’s guilty verdict.
The development, announced May 26, is a win for Dugan’s high-powered defense team, which has been asking U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman to toss the high-profile case.
The team has made various arguments for more than a year, including that the charges were not proper, that Dugan is immune as a judge and more recently that the actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were not legal.
Adelman has rejected those arguments repeatedly.
In their latest filings, Dugan’s attorneys noted a case that Adelman cited to deny their arguments against ICE’s authority was overturned just days after Adelman issued his ruling.
The defense argues that based on that recent ruling, the federal statute under which Dugan was found guilty was not satisfied procedurally.
The government urged Adelman to again reject the defense’s argument, saying the case cited was off-point and there are other previous cases that support the jury’s finding of guilt.
The judge’s response this time was different.
Adelman is calling both sides so he can hear arguments on the motion – something he has not done before in the closely watched prosecution, the first of its kind to go to trial.
The sentencing, originally scheduled for June 3, has been postponed and instead replaced with oral arguments on the motion. A new sentencing date has not been set.
Unique, important case ends in split verdict
A federal jury found Dugan guilty of obstructing federal immigration agents, a felony, on Dec. 18. The jury found her not guilty on a misdemeanor charge of concealing an undocumented immigrant agents were seeking to arrest.
Dugan, 67, was charged with trying to help Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, elude an ICE arrest team on April 18, 2025.
The case thrust Dugan to the forefront of the clash between the judiciary and the Trump administration as it conducts a sweeping immigration crackdown nationwide.
Dugan resigned from the bench on Jan. 3, as an effort to impeach her and remove her from the bench was mounting within the Republican-controlled state Legislature.
A judge for nine years, Dugan faces up to five years in prison, but it is unlikely she would get time behind bars. For a defendant with no criminal history who is convicted of a nonviolent crime, federal sentencing guidelines generally call for probation.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hannah Dugan’s sentencing delayed as judge sets hearing on defense motion
Reporting by John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
