Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan has resigned after her December 19 conviction of obstruction. Judge Dugan was accused of helping an undocumented Mexican immigrant named Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was attending a hearing in her courtroom.
When the judge learned that FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were waiting outside to arrest Flores-Ruiz, she confronted them and told them that their administrative warrant was insufficient grounds to arrest him. She then directed them to the office of her boss, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
After the agents left, Dugan moved Flores-Ruiz’s case to the top of her docket and told Flores-Ruiz’s attorney that his client could attend his next hearing via Zoom. She then led them out of her courtroom through a private jury door. When the agents spotted Flores-Ruiz leaving, they followed him outside, chased, and arrested him. He was later sentenced to time served for illegally re-entering the United States and was deported.
In a resignation letter written by Dugan to Tony Evers, a Democrat and the Governor of Wisconsin, on January 3, Dugan called her service as a judge “the honor of my life and a daily blessing.” She then continued, “As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary.”
Dugan Had Faced Calls to Resign
Judge Dugan had faced calls to resign from state Republicans, as well as threats to impeach her if she did not resign. As a person who has been convicted of a felony, she is likely already ineligible to continue holding office as a judge in Wisconsin, according to Wisconsin’s Constitution, which says that a person with a felony conviction cannot hold “any office of trust, profit or honor in this state.” Her resignation prevented some of the procedural and political uproar that would probably have come with recall, removal, or impeachment.
In her resignation letter, Dugan stated that the citizens of Wisconsin “deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31 rather than have the fate of that Court rest in a partisan fight in the state legislature.” A spokesperson for the governor said that he will work to fill the vacancy without delay.
Prosecutors Alleged Dugan Called the Situation “Absurd”
According to prosecutors, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz was deported in 2013 and then illegally reentered the United States. He was charged in March 2025 with misdemeanor domestic violence in Milwaukee County, which was how he ended up in Dugan’s courtroom. The prosecutors’ affidavit also said that Dugan became visibly angry at the agents’ arrival and called the situation “absurd.”
However, Dugan’s defense attorney, Jason Luczak, said during his closing argument that Dugan was legitimately confused about how to handle immigration arrests in the courthouse. He explained that she was concerned that the national immigration crackdown would result in deportations that deprive victims of justice.
It’s Rare for Judges to Be Prosecuted for Failing to Comply with Federal Immigration Efforts
Dugan served nine years as a Milwaukee county circuit court judge before her resignation and handled thousands of cases over the course of her career. After the FBI arrested her on charges of obstruction, the case against Dugan was called out by President Donald Trump as he pressed ahead with his crackdown on immigration. After Dugan’s arrest, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that “the courts are holding us back” from deporting hundreds of thousands of people.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and others called the case a power move by the Trump administration meant to intimidate state judges into complying with federal immigration efforts. Prosecutions like these are very rare, and there aren’t many documented cases prior to the Trump administration. That’s why Dugan called her case an “unprecedented legal proceeding” in her resignation letter.
A Massachusetts judge named Shelley M. Richmond Joseph was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, aiding and abetting obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting obstruction of a federal proceeding, and perjury related to a 2018 incident in which she allegedly allowed a defendant to avoid federal agents by leaving through the rear door of the courthouse. The charges were later dismissed.
A former New Mexico magistrate judge named Joel Cano was also accused of tampering with evidence linked to the arrest of an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant in 2024. His trial is set to begin on January 20.
Related Resources
- Wisconsin Judge Part of Immigration Arrest (FindLaw's Courtside)
- Increased Social Media Reviews for Immigrants: What They Involve and Who Is Affected (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Murder Conviction Tossed After Misconduct by California Supreme Court Judge (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
