Jury selection to begin in federal trial of Milwaukee judge accused of helping undocumented man evade arrest
Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday in the federal trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of concealing an undocumented man to prevent his arrest by immigration authorities.
The court has scheduled jury selection over two days, with the trial set to begin on Monday in Milwaukee.
Prosecutors have told the court they expect to have 25 to 28 witnesses.
Dugan was arrested in April and charged in a two-count federal indictment alleging obstruction of official Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings and knowingly concealing the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, from immigration authorities.
According to federal prosecutors, Dugan encountered federal agents who were at the Milwaukee County Circuit Court on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing in her courtroom on a battery charge.
Prosecutors say that after speaking to the agents, Dugan directed them to the chief judge's office down the hall and then sent Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a non-public door in an alleged attempt, authorities claim, to help him evade arrest on immigration violations.
Dugan has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Her lawyers have called her arrest "virtually unprecedented" and sought to dismiss the case, arguing she has judicial immunity for official acts and her prosecution is unconstitutional. Judge Lynn Adelman denied the motion, finding that there was "no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered 'part of a judge's job.'"
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan in the wake of her arrest, stating in an order that it found it was "in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties."
Flores-Ruiz, a native of Mexico, was later arrested and charged with unlawful reentry into the U.S.
He was sentenced to time served earlier this month after pleading guilty to the charge, federal court records show. DHS said last month he had been deported.
