A federal judge has denied former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s bid to overturn a jury’s verdict that she obstructed ICE agents outside her courtroom, putting the case back on track for sentencing.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled on June 16 that Dugan’s legal team had failed to clear the high legal bar required for him to reconsider his earlier ruling.
Defense lawyers had asked Adelman to reconsider after a Virginia case was overturned. That case was cited by Adelman in his ruling on jury instructions in Dugan’s trial.
The debate centered on whether Flores-Ruiz’s arrest was part of a “pending proceeding,” a requirement under the federal obstruction statute. The government took that position.
Conversely, the defense argued the agents were simply making an arrest, like thousands conducted by law enforcement every day, and so the obstruction statute was not applicable.
In a 32-page order, Adelman wrote, “At oral argument, defendant noted that ICE goes out every day to try to arrest people on the street. Given the estimated 10 million undocumented persons in the United States, does that mean there are 10 million pending proceedings?
“The problem for the defense is that this case did not involve some random encounter on the street. It was a targeted operation, conducted pursuant to agency procedures, including the issuance of an arrest warrant for a specific person, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz.”
In response to Adelman’s June 16 ruling, Dugan’s legal team issued a brief statement saying, “The court’s decision is wrong.”
With Adelman’s ruling rejecting the defense motion, Dugan’s sentencing will likely be reset soon. An earlier sentencing hearing, on June 9, was canceled so both sides could argue the motion to reconsider in court.
First-of-its-kind trial draws widespread attention
The Dugan case drew nationwide attention after FBI agents arrested Dugan a week after the man ICE agents were targeting for deportation appeared in her courtroom.
The case, the first of its kind to go to trial, thrust Dugan to the forefront of a clash between the judiciary and the Trump administration as it executed a broad immigration crackdown.
A jury found Dugan guilty of obstructing a federal immigration proceeding, a felony, and not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of concealing a fugitive whom ICE agents were seeking to arrest.
On April 18, 2025, Dugan and another judge questioned federal agents in the public corridor outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office.
Dugan returned to her courtroom, called Flores-Ruiz’s case, and then led him and his lawyer into a hallway reserved for staff and jurors.
Flores-Ruiz and his attorney emerged in the public corridor. Agents followed. Flores-Ruiz was arrested outside after a short foot chase.
Was it just an arrest or part of a proceeding?
Dugan’s attorneys argued the recent appeals court ruling on the Virginia case meant the jury’s verdict should be overturned.
In court, defense attorney Steve Biskupic told Adelman the government’s earlier arguments were not “frivolous,” and Adelman’s rulings were not “lawless” because both were based on a valid district case. That case has been overturned, and so Dugan’s case should be dismissed, he said.
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling said the Virginia case was decided wrongly and, in any case, it differs from the Dugan case. He also noted the ruling in Virginia doesn’t apply to Wisconsin.
Adelman sided with the government, pointing out that during the trial an ICE supervisor testified that there were 13 steps in the process to identify and ultimately remove Flores-Ruiz.
ICE began targeting Florest-Ruiz after he was arrested on suspicion of strangulation/suffocation and domestic abuse. Step eight in the ICE process was arresting Flores Ruiz outside Dugan’s courtroom, he noted.
In the Virginia case, undocumented immigrant Dennis Hernandez was taken into custody by ICE and later escaped. After he was recaptured, Hernandez was indicted for obstructing “a pending immigration proceeding.”
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling overturning Hernandez’s conviction marks the first ruling of its kind.
Adelman stands by ruling, even with case overturned
In his order on jury instructions for Dugan, Adelman cited the Hernandez case, calling it “persuasive.”
Even though it was overturned, Adelman wrote he stands by his ruling on instructions, and said other case law from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, of which Wisconsin is part, supports his position.
“Nothing in the current submission persuades me that the instructions were wrong,” he wrote.
Dugan’s team has said it will appeal the former judge’s conviction to the 7th Circuit, following sentencing.
Adelman wrote, “Perhaps the Seventh Circuit will pare back its obstruction case law based on the authorities defendant cites, but it is not for this court to anticipate such a change.”
Dugan is off the bench, unlikely to get any prison
Dugan, 67, resigned from the bench on Jan. 3, as an effort to remove her through impeachment 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 convicted of a nonviolent crime, federal sentencing guidelines generally call for probation.
John Diedrich is an investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at: jdiedrich@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Judge denies Hannah Dugan’s bid to overturn jury verdict in ICE case
Reporting by John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
