A federal judge has spared former Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan a prison sentence after she was convicted of obstructing federal immigration agents who tried to arrest a man outside her courtroom, instead ordering her to pay a $5,000 fine.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced the 67-year-old on Wednesday, citing her lack of a criminal record and what he described as “a lifetime of service to others.” He also said there was no evidence Dugan acted for personal gain. She will not serve prison time or probation and has 14 days to decide whether to appeal her conviction.
The case stems from an incident on April 18, 2025, when Dugan escorted Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz through a side door of her courtroom after immigration officers arrived at the Milwaukee County courthouse to arrest him. The 31-year-old had allegedly re-entered the United States illegally and was appearing before Dugan on a state battery charge.
According to prosecutors, Dugan confronted the officers outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office, arguing their administrative warrant did not authorize an arrest. Agents later spotted Flores-Ruiz in a courthouse corridor, chased him outside and took him into custody after a brief foot pursuit. He later pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the U.S. and was deported in November 2025.
A jury convicted Dugan in December of felony obstruction of a federal proceeding but acquitted her of a separate charge of concealing a person from arrest. She faced up to five years in prison and resigned from the bench two weeks after her conviction amid impeachment threats from Republican lawmakers. She had served as a judge for nine years.
Addressing the court publicly for the first time since her arrest, Dugan defended her actions.
“My acts that day were consistent with the expressed administrative and community concerns for our state courthouse. My judicial acts were not done with any malicious intent,” she said.
She added: “I’ve been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job.”
Two witnesses testified on her behalf. Rev. Gregory J. O’Meara, a Jesuit priest and law professor who has known Dugan since law school, said she exemplified Christian values and argued she did not need further punishment. Marquette University law professor Janine Geske told the court Dugan had already lost her career and income and asked that she be allowed to rebuild her life in the community.
Explaining the sentence, Adelman said prison was unnecessary to achieve the goals of federal sentencing. While he called Dugan’s actions a serious offence, he noted prosecutors had not recommended a specific prison term. Federal sentencing guidelines suggested a sentence of 15 to 21 months, but the court was not required to follow that recommendation.
Prosecutors argued Dugan had abused the public trust placed in judges. Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling wrote that judges are given broad discretion, but “there is a line they cannot cross,” adding that Dugan had crossed it.
Her lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic, argued she had already suffered severe personal and professional consequences. He accused federal authorities of making Dugan a “poster child” and said she posed no risk of repeating the conduct because she is no longer on the bench.
“What judge in the country is looking at this case and thinking, ‘Yes, sign me up for the Hannah Dugan treatment?’” Biskupic asked.
Dugan’s arrest in April 2025 drew national attention as the first case in which a Wisconsin state judge stood trial for allegedly obstructing federal immigration officers. Her legal team has consistently argued the Trump administration prosecuted her to make an example of her and says it intends to appeal the conviction regardless of the sentence.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah