Former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan is set to be sentenced after being convicted of obstructing a planned immigration arrest outside her courtroom last year.
Dugan, 67, a former Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, was found guilty of obstructing a federal proceeding but acquitted of a lesser charge of concealing a person from arrest following a federal trial in December.
The case drew national attention as President Donald Trump’s administration intensified efforts to crack down on interference with its hardline immigration enforcement policies.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman is scheduled to sentence Dugan on Wednesday during an 11:15 a.m. CST (1715 GMT) hearing at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.
Prosecutors accused Dugan of directing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national who had appeared before her on misdemeanor assault charges, through a non-public jury door in an attempt to help him evade federal immigration agents waiting outside her courtroom.
Despite leaving through the alternate exit, Flores-Ruiz later walked through a public hallway with his attorney and was arrested outside the courthouse after a brief foot chase.
Federal prosecutors did not recommend a specific sentence but argued that sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of between 15 and 21 months.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said Dugan abused the authority of her office by interfering with federal law enforcement.
“Rather than uphold the rule of law, the defendant used the power and prestige of judicial office to obstruct federal agents carrying out their lawful duties in order to help an individual evade arrest,” prosecutors wrote.
They added that the sentence should reflect the “serious nature of her conduct and its broader impact on the justice system.”
Dugan’s lawyers disputed the prosecution’s interpretation of the sentencing guidelines and urged the court to impose a sentence of time served, meaning she would not serve any prison time.
In court filings, the defence described the incident as an “isolated and unique” episode and argued there was no risk of Dugan committing a similar offence in the future.
Her legal team also noted that she lost her judicial office following her conviction and said she had been “intentionally shamed” by senior Justice Department and FBI officials after her arrest in April 2025.
They cited a social media post by FBI Director Kash Patel, who shared a photograph of Dugan in handcuffs being escorted to a police vehicle with the caption: “No one is above the law.”