Milwaukee County Judge Dugan arrested; debate over policy
Judge arrested, debate over courthouse policy
There's a power struggle between the local and federal governments, and it's part of the debate over the judge who was arrested.
MILWAUKEE - There's a power struggle between local and federal governments, and it's part of the debate over the Milwaukee judge who was suspended after the FBI arrested her.
Maybe you've never been to the courthouse, but this story is still about you, how your justice system works and how much power your government holds.
What we know:
Inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse last Friday, April 25, the FBI arrested Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan.
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Investigators say she helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and escape from her courtroom. Court records show she heard ICE agents were in the hallway.
Dig deeper:
Now here's the part that doesn't get as much attention:
The Biden administration policy said immigration arrests in courthouses may "chill individuals’ access to courthouses," but the policy said there may be legitimate needs for arrests, like for national security threats.
The Trump administration policy recently expanded those cases to include people like gang members and those who were already removed from the country.
It states that arresting people in courthouses may keep people safe, since people go through security screening.
Both the Biden and Trump policies do agree on one thing: both say arrests ideally would be in non-public areas in collaboration with courthouse security.
How much Milwaukee County Courthouse security will collaborate and where – that’s what Chief Judge Carl Ashley will lay out in a policy. He said he is not done crafting that policy.
The FBI complaint against Dugan said Ashley commented that ICE should not act in courtrooms or private areas.
Milwaukee County Judge Dugan defense, conservative joins legal team
The legal defense team for Milwaukee County Judge Dugan now includes an attorney who President Trump once considered for a U.S. Supreme Court seat.
What they're saying:
FOX6 News spoke with former U.S. Attorney James Santelle about the balancing act.
"Plainly, you want to do these arrests, for example, at a time when you’re not going to be disrupting the normal course of proceedings, you want to do them at places that are not upsetting to the safety and security of the public, including those litigants. That means things like in the courtroom: you’re probably not going to be as accommodating to law enforcement, when it comes to arrests and other things they want to do," Santelle said. "My anticipation is: they will put together a very particular and specific policy that proscribes places in which these legitimate law enforcement activities can be undertaken and also some restrictions on them as to time and conditions and circumstances [...] it’s all about human beings. You can have a policy, you can have a protocol, but it’s always very important that the people observing that and by that I mean the people who are implementing it and making certain it happens are rational and reasonable and bring to every circumstance, their own good sense."
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What's next:
Guidance from Gov. Tony Evers' administration says state employees should not give ice permission to access non-public areas.
Most workers are county workers, but judges and court reporters are state employees.
Republicans blasted the governor and asked him to rescind that guidance.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.