By Andrew Goudsward
Dec 11 (Reuters) – Jury selection begins on Thursday in the trial of a Wisconsin state judge charged with helping a migrant appearing in her courtroom evade an immigration arrest in a case stemming from President Donald Trump’s push to prosecute individuals accused of resisting his hardline immigration tactics.
Hannah Dugan, an elected judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, is facing federal criminal charges brought by Trump’s Justice Department of concealing a person from arrest and obstructing federal proceedings. Dugan has pleaded not guilty.
Milwaukee-based U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, overseeing the trial, is set to begin the process of selecting a jury on Thursday, with opening statements due to begin on Monday.
The case reflects the tensions surrounding Trump’s aggressive immigration policies including the presence of federal agents in courthouses. It also demonstrates the Justice Department’s eagerness to criminally prosecute figures it accuses of unlawfully impeding immigration enforcement.
While the case is not about judicial rulings, the trial will unfold as Trump administration officials continue to excoriate federal judges for halting or blocking administration actions deemed unlawful, accusing them of political motivations.
ARREST ALLEGEDLY DERAILED
Prosecutors have accused Dugan of briefly derailing the arrest of a migrant from Mexico, identified as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who federal agents planned to detain in a hallway outside her courtroom following an April 18 hearing in which he faced domestic violence charges.
Dugan has been suspended from judicial duties by Wisconsin’s top court while the case unfolds.
The indictment alleges that Dugan diverted a group of agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies away from the hallway and then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of her courtroom through a non-public exit.
Flores-Ruiz was arrested by federal agents following a brief pursuit outside the courthouse, according to court documents.
Prosecutors will have to show that Dugan acted corruptly to impede Flores-Ruiz’s arrest. In court filings, they have cited witnesses describing Dugan becoming “visibly angry” when she learned ICE agents were outside her courtroom and falsely telling law enforcement that they needed a judicial warrant to carry out an arrest.
COURTHOUSE CONTROVERSY
Lawyers for Dugan have said they plan to tell the jury that there was confusion over policies ICE had to follow when making arrests in the courthouse. Dugan had emailed the chief judge in the courthouse several days before the incident requesting guidance, according to a court filing.
“She was trying to ascertain, and follow, the rules,” her attorneys wrote in a filing.
Dugan was first elected as a county judge in 2016, and before that served as head of the local branch of Catholic Charities, which provides refugee resettlement programs among other services. She spent much of her early career as a lawyer at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, which serves poor people.
The Trump administration has loosened restrictions on immigration enforcement operations at local courthouses as part of a push to deport millions of migrants living illegally in the United States. Immigration enforcement officials have viewed courthouses as an appealing venue because defendants reliably appear for court dates and are screened by security, reducing risks of a violent confrontation.
Many advocates and some judges have condemned the practice, arguing it dissuades people from seeking justice in courts and risks undermining public trust in the legal system.
The case against Dugan echoes a criminal prosecution of a Massachusetts judge during the Republican president’s first term in office for allegedly aiding a migrant in avoiding arrest. The Justice Department dropped those charges in 2022 during Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency before a trial, and the judge has since faced judicial ethics proceedings.
During Trump’s second term, the Justice Department has directed prosecutors to investigate advocates and officials who hinder immigration enforcement operations and has sued cities and states that restrict local cooperation with ICE.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham)
