Video: Milwaukee County Judge Dugan, undocumented man at courthouse
Judge Dugan, undocumented man at courthouse
New video from inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse shows Judge Hannah Dugan on the day federal immigration agents were there to arrest a man.
MILWAUKEE - New video from inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse shows Judge Hannah Dugan, accused of helping an undocumented man evade arrest, on the day federal immigration agents were there to arrest that man.
Dugan accused
The backstory:
A federal grand jury indicted Dugan on May 13. She pleaded not guilty, and a trial date is set for July 21.
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The grand jury's two-count indictment accuses Dugan of helping undocumented 29-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade federal agents, who were at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to arrest him. It also states Dugan obstructed those agents in the process.
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Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan's court for a misdemeanor battery case on April 18. Prosecutors said Dugan told federal agents to go to the chief judge's office down the hall, and is then accused of telling Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave her courtroom out a back door as federal agents waited outside the courtroom to arrest him.
The video shows Dugan outside of her courtroom interacting with two men, who ultimately got up and walked away. It also showed Flores-Ruiz walking through a door with another person.
Video shows Eduardo Flores-Ruiz at the courthouse on April 18, the day immigration agents arrived to arrest the undocumented man (Courtesy: Milwaukee County)
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended the Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, saying it is in the public interest to temporarily relieve her of her duties as she faces federal charges.
Dig deeper:
A day after her indictment, Dugan's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case – claiming she has judicial immunity and the prosecutors violates the 10th Amendment.
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The motion to dismiss filing read, in part:
"Dugan is a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge. She was arrested and indicted for actions allegedly taken in and in the immediate vicinity of her courtroom, involving a person appearing before her as a party. The government’s prosecution of Judge Dugan is virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional—it violates the Tenth Amendment and fundamental principles of federalism and comity reflected in that amendment and in the very structure of the United States Constitution.
"The problems with this prosecution are legion, but most immediately, the government cannot prosecute Judge Dugan because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts. Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset."
The Source: Information in this report is from the U.S. District Court and Wisconsin Circuit Court, as well as The Associated Press.