'Had no lawful right': Judge who helped immigrant evade arrest says ICE agents violated 'longstanding privilege' barring civil arrests at courthouses as she asks for new trial

ICE agents "violated a longstanding privilege" barring civilian arrests from happening successful courthouses erstwhile they tried to apprehension an undocumented migrant that Hannah Dugan — the erstwhile Wisconsin justice who was found blameworthy past year of impeding agents during a courthouse bust — shielded from arrest, her lawyers say.

"ICE had nary lawful close to execute the warrant successful a authorities courthouse against a enactment with a tribunal quality that day," Dugan's ineligible squad argues successful a Jan. 30 motion for a caller trial. "[Dugan's] condemnation cannot stand, arsenic a substance of law," the question charges.

Dugan, 66, was indicted past year for allegedly helping an immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, evade national officers soon aft helium appeared successful her Milwaukee County Circuit courtroom successful transportation with a home maltreatment case. A national assemblage recovered Dugan blameworthy successful December of 1 number of obstructing oregon impeding a proceeding earlier a section oregon bureau of the United States, a felony. Jurors recovered her guiltless of 1 number of concealing an idiosyncratic to forestall his find and arrest, a misdemeanor.

Steve Biskupic, 1 of Dugan's defence attorneys — and a erstwhile U.S. Attorney — told WISN in precocious December that her ineligible squad had planned to inquire U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a Bill Clinton appointee, to acceptable speech Dugan's blameworthy verdict. Her lawyers filed their question for a caller proceedings connected Friday with claims that caller tribunal cases, including 1 successful November 2025, established a "common-law privilege" that bars civilian arrests from happening wrong courthouses.

Dugan's ineligible squad cites astatine slightest 4 "well-reasoned" national territory courts and opinions "from California to New York" that person sought to forestall ICE agents from executing administrative warrants against parties successful a region courthouse specified arsenic hers since 2020. "Since 1894, Wisconsin has joined galore different courts — including the U.S. Supreme Court — successful establishing a communal instrumentality privilege against the execution of civilian process oregon civilian apprehension warrants (e.g. an ICE administrative warrant) connected a enactment appearing successful a courthouse," Dugan's lawyers argue.

"This privilege specifically precludes ICE courthouse arrests for deportations oregon removal," their question says.

Dugan's squad points retired however the Southern District of California, for instance, granted non-citizen plaintiffs a impermanent restraining bid barring ICE from civilian arrests successful courthouses successful a 2020 case. "That tribunal rejected the statement that the privilege does not use against the national government," her question says.

"On April 18, 2025, Hannah Dugan, successful her relation arsenic a judicial officer, acted consistently with an established privilege barring civilian arrests of parties successful courthouses," the question concludes. "Federal and authorities courts agelong person recognized that common-law privilege preventing civilian apprehension oregon work of civilian process for parties and witnesses who are in, entering, oregon leaving courthouses for a proceeding oregon different proceeding."

Dugan's lawyers picture her arsenic "the archetypal and lone justice successful United States past to basal proceedings connected an indictment for wholly official, good-faith acts untainted by graft, corruption, oregon self-dealing and that violated nary idiosyncratic law close that the Reconstruction Amendments protect," per the motion.

The Milwaukee County Circuit Court justice stepped down from the seat past month and officially resigned to support "pursuing this fight" against the ineligible strategy and her blameworthy verdict "for our autarkic judiciary," she said.

"I americium the taxable of unprecedented national ineligible proceedings, which are acold from concluded but which contiguous immense and analyzable challenges that endanger the independency of our judiciary," Dugan wrote successful a missive to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, which was archetypal shared by section ABC affiliate WISN.

"I americium pursuing this combat for myself and for our autarkic judiciary," Dugan added. "However, the Wisconsin citizens that I cherish merit to commencement the twelvemonth with a justice connected the seat successful Milwaukee County Branch 31 alternatively than person the destiny of that Court remainder successful a partisan combat successful the authorities legislature."

Dugan's lawyers noted successful interviews that they were requesting a caller proceedings connected the grounds that jurors were improperly instructed during her trial.

Specifically, the assemblage reportedly asked whether Dugan needed to cognize who ICE agents were looking for that time successful bid to convict her. For the misdemeanor concealing charge, the jurors said Adelman told them yes. But for the felony charge, jurors claimed helium told them no.

"If it came backmost the same, we each would person recovered her not guilty, I americium definite of it," a juror told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel aft Dugan's conviction. "The assemblage followed Adelman's instructions faithfully," different juror said.

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In their Friday motion, Dugan's squad argued that "the assemblage instructions mistakenly gave nary guidance to the assemblage connected however to see Dugan's ineligible close to enactment arsenic she did."

The question says, "The court's improper effect to the assemblage constructively amended the indictment. … The mistake was not conscionable successful the court's effect to the jury, but successful the grounds presented."

During her trial, national prosecutors alleged Dugan impeded ICE agents during the courthouse migration bust successful Milwaukee by helping Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican nationalist who was facing misdemeanor artillery charges, permission done a assemblage doorway aft a proceeding successful his transgression case. Dugan was accused of "falsely" telling ICE agents they needed to get a judicial warrant to instrumentality Flores-Ruiz into custody. Later, a lawman moving successful the courthouse provided accusation to national investigators.

The incidental occurred connected April 18, 2025, and Dugan was charged successful a transgression ailment little than a week aboriginal and was formally indicted successful precocious May.

Obstruction carries a imaginable maximum condemnation of 5 years successful national prison, according to national law. But specified an result is exceedingly improbable owed to Dugan's deficiency of a transgression grounds and the facts of the lawsuit itself. The sought-after transgression suspect was yet detained and past deported successful November.

Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.