A former judge who helped an illegal alien elude federal immigration officials has been given a slap on the wrist, but she says she will still appeal the sentence.
Hannah Dugan resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court bench after she was convicted for obstructing justice when she helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal alien from Mexico, flee from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
‘I have been cast as a scofflaw and as a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job. Your honor, I will not let those minutes on April 18, 2025, define my life’s work.’
Flores-Ruiz had been arrested for charges that included strangulation and suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse. He later pleaded no contest to the charge of battery and guilty to re-entering the U.S.
In Aug. 2025, Dugan was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and concealing a person from arrest. She was convicted on the felony obstruction charge and found not guilty on the lesser misdemeanor charge.
On Wednesday, nearly a year after Dugan’s indictment, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ordered her to pay a fine of $5,000, but she will not serve prison time.
“I think this is a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment,” Adelman said.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Dugan to prison time between 15 and 21 months.
Dugan remained defiant even in the moments just before Adelman issued the relatively lax sentence.
“My acts that day were consistent with community concerns at the courthouse,” she said. “My judicial acts were not done with any malicious intent or to advance any personal interests.”
She went on to say that she plans to return to public office after being being “forced” to retire.
“In January, I resigned from my office so the constituents would have a judge in my branch to begin the year,” Dugan continued. “I have been cast as a scofflaw and as a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job. Your honor, I will not let those minutes on April 18, 2025, define my life’s work.”
Dugan’s attorneys indicated they plan to appeal the sentence.
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Adelman rejected an argument made by Dugan’s attorneys that she was shielded from prosecution out of “judicial immunity” from her position as a judge.
Surveillance video from the courthouse showed the former judge confronting the federal officers and instructing them to go to the office of the chief judge before helping Flores-Ruiz exit through a side door.
Despite Dugan’s actions, Flores-Ruiz was tracked down by federal authorities and removed from the U.S. in Nov. 2025.
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