Former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan was spared prison time when she was on Wednesday sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine for allegedly obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the judicial arrest of an undocumented immigrant. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman noted that a prison sentence was unnecessary and ordered a fine instead. She expressed that Dugan was a good person who made a bad decision in that moment.
Dugan was convicted of felony obstruction following her federal trial in December and subsequently resigned from office in January after facing pressure from state Republicans. She faced a maximum prison sentence of five years. This is the first conviction of a state judge for obstructing immigration officials.
Adelman explained at the hearing that “punishment should fit the perpetrator and not just the crime.” Before sentencing, Dugan filed a motion to have her trial reopened disputed by Adelman last month.
The ruling stems from an incident at the Milwaukee County Courthouse in April 2025, when ICE agents learned that Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had returned to the country illegally and was appearing before Dugan in a state battery case. Acting on an administrative warrant, officers arrived at the courthouse to arrest him. However, when Dugan learned of the officers’ presence, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a back door. Federal agents eventually caught up with Flores-Ruiz and arrested him, leading to his deportation in November. Dugan was arrested at the courthouse a week later and accused to federal allegations.
During the highly politicized trial, Dugan maintained that she was not guilty and told the court that she was simply trying to maintain peace and decorum in the courtroom. “I was a public servant just trying to do my job,” she claimed.
Dugan’s actions were called reckless and illegal, but Adelman made it clear that she had done a lot of good for her community, a sentiment reflected in her sentencing.
