U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman has denied a motion to dismiss the federal case against Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, clearing the way for a trial on charges she obstructed immigration officers who came to her courtroom to make an arrest.
In the crucial, long-awaited ruling, Adelman turned back the arguments of Dugan’s high-powered legal team that the judge was immune from prosecution and that the case was an example of judicial overreach.
Adelman’s ruling agrees with the report of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph, who recommended in early July that the Dugan case should not be dismissed.
“There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of the judge’s job,'” Adelman wrote in the 27-page ruling.
“As the magistrate judge noted, the same is true in the bribery prosecutions, concededly valid, where the judges were prosecuted for performing official acts intertwined with bribery.”
Adelman, 85, was appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and is considered among the most liberal federal judges in the nation.
The case against Dugan has highlighted the escalating tension between the nation’s judges and the Trump administration as it advances a crackdown against undocumented immigrants.
In his decision, Adelman rejected the defense’s attempt to tie this case to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sided with President Donald Trump’s argument that he was immune from prosecution when he acted in his official capacity.
Adelman also rejected Dugan’s argument that her arrest and prosecution was a violation of the separation between state and federal powers under the U.S. Constitution.
But the judge did say that Dugan raised “some very real concerns” about judicial immunity.
“She wonders why, if official acts enjoy no immunity, a judge could not be prosecuted for handling contraband during a trial or scheduling a hearing in a manner that inconveniences federal law enforcement,” Adelman wrote. He then wondered could a state judge be charged for ordering an undocumented immigrant into custody, thwarting a planned arrest by federal immigration officials.
The response by federal prosecutors on this issue, Adelman wrote, was “unsatisfying.”
Adelman scheduled a hearing at 11 a.m. Sept. 3, 2025, in his courtroom in downtown Milwaukee. Dugan will not appear.
Adelman said earlier he will want to know at such a hearing if there will be an appeal. An appeal would go to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers cases from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana and is headquartered in Chicago.
An appeal would freeze the process until the higher court rules, putting off a trial to 2026.
However, if Dugan’s team doesn’t appeal, a trial could be scheduled sooner, possibly later this year.
In a statement, Dugan’s legal team said, “While we’re disappointed by this decision, we look forward to the trial, which will show Judge Dugan did nothing wrong and simply treated this case like any other in front of her courtroom.”
The statement did not make clear whether Dugan plans to appeal the decision.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Dugan is currently suspended with pay by order of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
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. Adelman cited Joseph’s report several times in his ruling.
Dugan is accused of helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant charged with battery, elude federal immigration officers in April 2025.
Dugan was indicted in May and pleaded not guilty. A trial was scheduled for July but was canceled as the motion to dismiss advanced.
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. Federal officials say Flores-Ruiz illegally re-entered the United States from Mexico after being deported.
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 charges 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 story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal judge denies motion to dismiss case against Judge Hannah Dugan
