U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman has denied a motion to dismiss the federal charges against Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who faces counts of allegedly obstructing federal immigration officers who came to Dugan’s courtroom to arrest a man they say illegally re-entered the United States from Mexico after being deported.
Dugan is accused of helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant charged with battery, elude federal immigration officers.
Dugan was indicted in May and pleaded not guilty. A trial was scheduled for July but was canceled as the motion to dismiss advanced.
Adelman scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3.
Adelman’s ruling falls in line with the report of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph, who recommended in early July that the Dugan case should move ahead and not be dismissed.
Joseph issued her report after Dugan’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss, saying the judges are immune from prosecution when acting in their official capacity.
Federal prosecutors backed Joseph’s recommendation, saying the defense was mischaracterizing previous court decisions. They also argued that the criminal charges arose from her “unilateral, non-judicial and unofficial actions outside the role of a Wisconsin state judge.”
Dugan was indicted May 13 on charges she obstructed a federal agency and tried to help undocumented immigrant Flores-Ruiz escape federal agents at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18.
Flores-Ruiz, 31, was taken into custody following a chase outside the courthouse.
FBI agents later arrested Dugan at the courthouse, making her a high-profile example of the clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary.
Dugan, 66, pleaded not guilty to the felony and misdemeanor she faces. If convicted, she faces up to six years in prison, but first-time nonviolent offenders typically get shorter sentences or probation.
Flores-Ruiz has agreed to plead guilty to having entered the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2013, according to federal court records. His misdemeanor battery case is set for trial later this year.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal judge denies motion to dismiss case against Judge Hannah Dugan