A federal judge on Monday denied Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan's attempt to get her guilty verdict overturned.
In her 39-page order, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected Dugan's claim that she is immune from prosecution.
"There was no basis for granting immunity simply because the indictment described conduct that could be considered 'part of a judge's job,'" Adelman wrote.
Dugan's lawyer said they plan to appeal.
"We continue to maintain that Hannah Dugan acted lawfully and within her independent authority as a judge," her legal team said in a statement. "The inconsistent jury verdicts demonstrate that the trial proceedings were flawed, and we plan to appeal."
On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the office of her boss, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, because she told them their administrative warrant wasn't sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside, and arrested him after a foot chase.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in November that he had been deported.
Dugan was convicted of obstructing federal immigration agents in December. She resigned from the judiciary after the verdict.
At Dugan's trial, prosecutors worked to show that she directed agents to the chief judge's office to create an opening for Flores-Ruiz to escape.
An FBI agent who led the investigation testified that after agents left the corridor, she immediately moved Flores-Ruiz's case to the top of her docket, told him that he could appear for his next hearing via Zoom, and led him out the private door.
Prosecutors also played audio recordings from her courtroom in which she can be heard telling her court reporter that she would take "the heat" for leading Flores-Ruiz out the back.
Her attorneys countered that she was trying to follow courthouse protocols that called for court employees to report any immigration agents to their supervisors and that she didn't intentionally try to obstruct the arrest team.
She is expected to be sentenced in June, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.