Hannah Dugan | |
|---|---|
| Judge of theMilwaukee CountyCircuit Court Branch 31 | |
| Assumed office August 1, 2016 Suspended: April 29, 2025 – present | |
| Preceded by | Paul Rifelj |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) |
| Education | |
Hannah C. Dugan (born 1959)[1] is an American attorney and judge fromMilwaukee, Wisconsin. She has been aWisconsin circuit court judge forMilwaukee County since 2016. Prior to her judicial service, Dugan served as president of theMilwaukee Bar Association, as an executive director forCatholic Charities USA in south-east Wisconsin, and she worked with severallegal aid organizations.
On April 25, 2025, Dugan was arrested by theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) andindicted for allegedly assisting an illegal immigrant in evading arrest. The arrest received significant national attention and elicited opinions from across the political spectrum and legal profession. Opponents of the arrest have characterized her arrest as anauthoritarian act by thesecond Trump administration, while supporters have characterized it as a proper enforcement of the law.[2][3][4] She was suspended by the state supreme court on April 29.[5]
Dugan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in legal studies from theUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, and a master's degree in American studies fromBoston College.[1] She graduated from theUniversity of Wisconsin Law School in 1987 and taught law courses atMarquette University and theSeattle University School of Law.[6] From 1999 to 2000, Dugan was president of theMilwaukee Bar Association.[7][8]
Dugan spent much of her career working withlegal aid organizations to provide assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation,[8] and served as the executive director ofCatholic Charities of Southeastern Wisconsin from 2006 to 2009.[9] She was active in professional organizations and refereed attorney discipline cases brought by the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation.[10] Speaking to theMilwaukee Independent in 2016, Dugan stated that she found the judiciary situation in Milwaukee challenging, but believed in the independence of its judges.[10]
Dugan was elected a Wisconsin circuit court judge in2016, defeating incumbent Paul Rifelj with 65% of the vote.[11] During her tenure, she primarily oversaw cases in the court'smisdemeanor division.[8]
Dugan was suspended by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in April 2025 after being charged with the federal offenses related to allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest. She faces federal charges of concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.[12][13]
On April 18, 2025,US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued anarrest warrant for Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico accused ofmisdemeanor battery, who was set to appear in court on April 18, 2025, before Dugan on charges of battery and domestic abuse.[14]
From 2019 to January 21, 2025, a federal policy existed for ICE to refrain from making routine arrests at courthouses. On February 21, 2025 an interim guidance[15] was issued by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) titled "Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas." Under this interim guidance, ICE officers or agents may conduct civil immigration enforcement actions in or near courthouses when they have credible information that leads them to believe the targeted alien(s) is or will be present at a specific location, and where such action is not precluded by laws imposed by the jurisdiction in which the civil immigration enforcement action will take place. According to anaffidavit filed by an FBI agent in support of the criminal complaint against her, Dugan was described as angry when she learned that ICE agents were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest Flores-Ruiz. She then allegedly questioned the agents in the hallway and asked whether they had a judicial warrant. They informed her that they had an administrative warrant[a] to detain Flores-Ruiz.[17][3] Dugan told the agents that they needed a judicial warrant, not an administrative warrant, and she directed them to speak to Chief Judge Carl Ashley.[6] She then returned to her courtroom.
According to theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, when Chief Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Carl Ashley notified Dugan of this warrant via email, Dugan responded saying "a warrant was not presented in the hallway on the sixth floor".[19]
After Dugan returned to her courtroom, instead of holding the hearing, she directed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave using the jury room exit to the public hallway.[20][21] This alternate exit led through a hallway before opening to the public area where she and the agents had spoken.[22] Flores-Ruiz entered an elevator into which an agent also entered. They rode to the main exit from the building and left the building. When Flores-Ruiz began to leave the scene,[23] the ICE agents chased after him and arrested him near the intersection of West State Street and Tenth Street,[24] and Flores-Ruiz was taken to the Dodge Detention Facility inJuneau, Wisconsin.[22]
The FBI subsequently opened an investigation into whether Dugan helped an immigrant avoid arrest.[19][25] Dugan was arrested by FBI agents on April 25, 2025, and charged with two felony counts of obstruction and concealing an individual,[22] and she was jailed. She was released on her own recognizance later that day.[26]
In contradiction to the conventions and traditions of the offices held, public comments were made regarding the arrest of Dugan. FBI DirectorKash Patel announced the arrest in a social media post onX, stating that Dugan had "intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse".[27] He deleted the post shortly thereafter, but subsequently restored the post. United States Attorney GeneralPam Bondi also spoke publicly in support of the arrest of Dugan.[28]
Dugan was brought beforeUS Magistrate JudgeStephen C. Dries that morning forarraignment and she made no public comments, but her attorney told the court that Dugan "wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest ofpublic safety."[22][29] Following her initial hearing, Dugan hired former U.S. AttorneySteven M. Biskupic and formerU.S. Solicitor GeneralPaul Clement to represent her.[30][31]
Chief Judge Carl Ashley said in a statement that Dugan's caseload would be handled by another jurist in the courthouse and declined to comment further.[3] Areserve judge will be appointed to take over Dugan's caseload.[32] On April 29, 2025, theWisconsin Supreme Court issued an order relieving Dugan of her duties during the length of her federal trial.[33][34] On May 13, 2025, Dugan was indicted by afederal grand jury for concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings.[26]
On May 14, Dugan's attorneys moved todismiss the case, on the basis ofjudicial immunity, official acts, and theTenth Amendment. They wrote, "The government's prosecution of Judge Dugan is virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional".[35] To support their position they cited the 2024 US Supreme court decisionTrump v. United States. They asserted that the decision provides immunity to Judge Dugan for all official acts within her exclusive constitutional authority. These official acts include directing someone where to go within her courtroom.[36]
On May 30, 138 retired state and federal judges filed anamicus brief, stating that Dugan "is entitled to absolute immunity for her official acts", and that the court should dismiss the charges against her. They characterized the prosecution as an "egregious overreach by the executive branch" that "would create a chilling effect on judges" if allowed to proceed, and that "threatens public trust in the judicial system and the ability of the public to avail themselves of courthouses without fear of reprisal".[37][38]
On August 26, Judge Lynn Aldeman declined to dismiss the charges, and trial was set for December 15.[39]
Republican lawmakers applauded the arrest, with CongressmanDerrick Van Orden (WI–03) stating that "manyactivist judges around the county have been acting politically in order to sabotage President Trump's agenda, and disenfranchise the 77 million Americans that voted for him".[40] Former Wisconsin GovernorScott Walker called on Republican leaders of theWisconsin Legislature to convene an extraordinary session to impeach and remove Dugan from office, and CongressmanTony Wied (WI–08) called for Dugan's resignation.[41]United States Attorney GeneralPam Bondi stated that judiciary members opposing the Trump administration's immigration policies would face prosecution: "If you are harboring a fugitive, we don't care who you are. ... We will come after you and we will prosecute you. We will find you."[42][28]
Dugan's arrest was condemned by multipleDemocratic lawmakers in theUS House of Representatives.[40][43][44]U.S. SenatorTammy Baldwin, who represents Wisconsin, accused PresidentDonald Trump of attacking democratic values, saying that the arrest threatens to breach theseparation of powers set by theUS Constitution.[43][28] Milwaukee'sCongresswomanGwen Moore (WI–04) said she was, "very alarmed at the increasingly lawless actions of the Trump Administration, and in particular ICE, who have been defying courts and acting with disregard for the Constitution."[45]Mark Pocan (WI–02) said the arrest is "stuff I expect fromThird World countries" and called for an investigation.[40]
Milwaukee MayorCavalier Johnson said that aggressive federal interference at theMilwaukee County Courthouse was having a detrimental effect on normal legal processes,[46] with a similar view expressed by Milwaukeestate AssemblymanRyan Clancy.[47]
TheMilwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that five legal experts, including former federal prosecutors, did not believe Dugan should be charged with a federal crime.[2] Christopher Wellborn, the president of theNational Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, criticized the arrest, saying that American democracy "rests upon theindependence of the judiciary" and any "retaliatory action from the executive branch that appears to undermine this foundation demands our unwavering scrutiny and a resounding response."[3]
Retired Massachusetts Supreme Court justiceGeraldine Hines commented "This kind of prosecution is... an effort to intimidate judges".[4] Monica Isham, a circuit court judge inSawyer County, Wisconsin, sent an email to other state judges with the subject line "Guidance Requested or I Refuse to Hold Court". In the email, she noted that she had sworn an oath to uphold both the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions, and said: "I have no intention of allowing anyone to be taken out of my courtroom by ICE and sent to a concentration camp, especially without due process, as BOTH of the constitutions we swore to support requires."[48]
More than 150 former state and federal judges called Dugan's arrest an attempt to intimidate the courts.[49]
The Chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Ann Jacobs, said Judge Dugan's arrest was "unheard-of" and seemed designed to make judges afraid to take any position that the Trump administration did not like.[26]
Protests were held outside of theU.S. Courthouse in Milwaukee on April 25,[50] and theFBI field office inSt. Francis on April 26.[51]
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | General[52] | April 5 | Hannah C. Dugan | Nonpartisan | 132,461 | 64.90% | Paul Rifelj (inc) | Non. | 70,098 | 34.35% | 204,088 | 62,363 |
| 2022 | General[53] | April 5 | Hannah C. Dugan (inc) | Nonpartisan | 89,206 | 98.42% | —unopposed— | 90,640 | ||||
Media related toHannah Dugan at Wikimedia Commons