U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman has postponed the scheduled June 3 sentencing of former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan and instead set oral arguments on a defense motion seeking reconsideration of requests for acquittal and a new trial.
Dugan, 66, was convicted in December of one felony count of obstruction after a federal jury found she impeded immigration agents attempting to arrest an undocumented immigrant in her courtroom. Jurors acquitted her of a misdemeanor count of concealing an individual to prevent arrest.
The obstruction conviction carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $350,000. As a first-time, nonviolent offender, Dugan had been widely expected to avoid prison time.
The case stems from an April 18, 2025, incident at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Immigration agents arrived with an administrative warrant for Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, a Mexican national who had re-entered the U.S. illegally and was appearing before Dugan on state domestic-abuse battery charges. According to trial evidence, Dugan learned agents were waiting in the hallway, confronted them, told them the warrant was insufficient, directed them elsewhere and then escorted Flores-Ruiz out a nonpublic side door.
Federal prosecutors charged Dugan with the two counts. She was arrested by the FBI, suspended from the bench with pay and later resigned her position in a letter to Gov. Tony Evers.
Following the verdict, Dugan’s attorneys filed post-trial motions for judgment of acquittal or a new trial, arguing in part that she was protected by judicial immunity. Adelman, who presided over the trial, denied those requests in a ruling earlier this year. Defense attorneys then filed a motion for reconsideration.
Adelman’s decision to schedule oral arguments instead of proceeding directly to sentencing follows the defense’s latest filing. No new date for sentencing has been set. Dugan’s legal team has indicated plans to appeal if the conviction stands.
She remains free pending resolution of the post-trial proceedings.
