A federal judge has upheld the conviction of former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan, rejecting efforts to overturn a verdict that found she helped an undocumented man evade federal immigration agents at a courthouse in Milwaukee.
US District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled on Tuesday that Dugan’s conviction would stand, declining to reverse the obstruction of justice verdict despite arguments from her legal team challenging the legal basis of the case.
Dugan’s attorneys responded by saying, “The court’s decision is wrong.”
No sentencing date was immediately set.
Dugan was convicted on December 19 of helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz avoid immigration officers who arrived at her courtroom seeking to detain him.
The case centered on an April 18, 2025 incident in which immigration agents went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Flores-Ruiz, who authorities said had reentered the country illegally, was scheduled to appear in a state battery case.
According to court records, Dugan confronted the agents and told them that their administrative warrant was not sufficient grounds for an arrest.
After the agents left the area, Dugan led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a private jury door.
Agents later spotted Flores-Ruiz, followed him outside, and arrested him after a foot chase.
Dugan’s attorneys argued that her conviction should be overturned in light of a federal appeals court ruling in a separate Virginia immigration case.
They contended that there was no legally defined “pending proceeding” involving Flores-Ruiz at the time.
Prosecutors argued that the Virginia case differed substantially and did not apply to Dugan’s circumstances.
In his ruling, Adelman found that the attempted arrest of Flores-Ruiz constituted a “pending proceeding,” describing it as a planned and targeted immigration operation.
The judge said ICE’s authority to issue warrants and carry out removals without court involvement distinguished the case from other law enforcement actions.
The prosecution became a prominent example of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Trump allies characterized Dugan as an activist judge who interfered with law enforcement, while supporters and attorneys argued she was unfairly targeted for opposing a key administration priority.
Dugan, 67, resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court after her conviction amid impeachment threats from Republican lawmakers.
She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines generally favor probation for defendants with no criminal history convicted of nonviolent offenses.