Wisconsin Judge Accused Of Helping Illegal Evade Feds Claims ‘Judicial Immunity’

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan is claiming “judicial immunity” after officials accused her of helping an illegal alien evade immigration enforcement.

A federal grand jury indicted Dugan earlier this week on charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings. Dugan allegedly attempted to aid Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz escape Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials who waited outside Dugan’s courtroom last month.

“The problems with this prosecution are legion, but most immediately, the government cannot prosecute Judge Dugan because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts. Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset,” a Wednesday filing from Dugan’s attorneys says, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Dugan’s attorneys said the charges, brought by the Department of Justice, violate the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment about powers reserved to the states.

“[T]he immunity and federalism issues must be resolved swiftly because the government has no basis in law to prosecute her. The prosecution against her is barred. The Court should dismiss the indictment,” the filing states. “Since at least the early 17th century in England, and carried on through common law in the United States, judges of record have been entitled to absolute immunity for official acts with a few exceptions not applicable here.”

Administration officials have said that the case against Dugan shows that all are equal under the law.

Last month, law enforcement officials gathered outside of Dugan’s courtroom waiting for Flores-Ruiz to exit. Dugan angrily confronted officials before directing Flores-Ruiz toward a side exit instead of the public door in an attempt to bypass law enforcement, according to the complaint against her.

“Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge Dugan then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the ‘jury door,’ which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse,” the complaint against Dugan says.

“Shame on her,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said last month. “It was a domestic violence case, of all cases, and she was protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime.”