Former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan will be sentenced July 8 in federal court for obstructing immigration officers.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman set the date for 11:15 a.m. Wednesday after denying Dugan’s motions for acquittal or a new trial on June 16. Dugan, 67, was convicted by a jury in December 2025 of one felony count of obstructing a federal proceeding. She was acquitted on a misdemeanor count of concealing a person from arrest.
The case stems from an April 18, 2025, incident at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. ICE agents arrived to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national previously deported who faced state battery charges. Prosecutors said Dugan warned Flores-Ruiz and directed him to leave through a restricted exit, allowing him to evade agents temporarily. He was later arrested and deported.
Dugan resigned from the bench in January 2026. Her attorneys had argued for judicial immunity and other grounds to overturn the conviction, but Adelman rejected those claims.
Sentencing was originally scheduled for June 3 but postponed so the judge could consider post-trial motions. Federal guidelines for the obstruction conviction suggest 15 to 21 months in prison, though first-time, nonviolent offenders in similar cases often receive probation. Dugan faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $350,000 fine.
Her legal team has indicated plans to appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
