Dugan’s felony conviction sets precedent

In a nationally-watched trial that could set precedent, Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan has been found guilty of one felony count of obstructing federal agents when they attempted to apprehend Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant who appeared in her courtroom last April. 

A jury acquitted Dugan of a lesser misdemeanor charge of concealing a wanted person.  The verdict came in late on Thursday night.

The trial could be a a test case, of sorts, that will likely impact similar cases for years to come. But the case represented a clash of ideologies wrapped in a nuanced contest. 

A legal bellwether

Dugan faces the possibility of jail time and fines, though her attorneys say the case isn’t over.

Already suspended by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Dugan will almost certainly lose her judgeship. The Wisconsin Constitution prohibits people with a felony conviction from serving in public office, unless they’re pardoned. 

In a joint statement the day after the verdict, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said the chamber would start impeachment proceedings if Dugan does not immediately resign. 

On Thursday, Catholic Bishops of Wisconsin expressed concern over the apparent nature of current immigration enforcement. 

“U.S. citizens are being racially profiled. Immigrants are vilified, denied pastoral care, detained in poor conditions, and parents and children are being separated. Immigrants who abided by all the rules of the legal immigration process have lost their legal status arbitrarily,” they wrote in a statement.

Competing narratives

The case stems from an incident last April, when federal prosecutors say Dugan interfered with immigration agents attempting to apprehend an undocumented man who appeared in her courtroom.

In closing arguments Thursday afternoon, the last day of trial, the two sides methodically laid out their arguments and rebutted each other. 

The prosecution painted a picture of Dugan as an activist who rounded up federal agents and led them to the chief judge’s office, effectively creating an escape route for Flores-Ruiz.

The defense, however, described Dugan as a well-meaning public servant who, on the morning of April 18, did her best to perform her judicial duties at a time when guidance for how to respond to federal agencies had not yet been formalized. 

Defense attorney Jason Luczak argued that the prosecution was presenting a case that was “riddled with doubts” and hadn’t met its burden of proof. Dugan declined to take the stand.

National attention

The case has nabbed national attention, in part because it represents broader playing out in communities across the country — those who say they’re serving public and upholding the letter of the law, and others resistent to that, who sees ICE’s presence in a courthouse as a strike to the sanctity of the legal process and, more broadly, a threat to due process and human rights.

“It has a chilling effect. It sends a message,” said Alexandra Guevara, communications director for Voces de la Frontera, a Milwaukee-based immigrants rights organization.

“If people think that isolating this case and making it about one judge explains what’s happening here, I think they’re wrong.”