Wisconsin Judge Who Helped Immigrant Escape Sentenced

Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant out of her courtroom to evade US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A federal judge fined her $5,000 and cited her otherwise law-abiding life in issuing the sentence, the AP reports. Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump's administration sought to "crush" Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.

Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened "the independence of our judiciary." Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, urged authorities to "lock her up" in a social media post following her conviction.

• Two Marquette University law professors spoke on her behalf Wednesday, including a former state Supreme Court justice and a Jesuit priest who read a statement describing Dugan as a defender of oppressed people and saying he didn't believe there was a need for punishment. "Hannah models what it means to be a Christian," Gregory O'Meara said.
• Dugan then rose to address the court, saying she's tried to do her best as a judge, and that her actions that day in April 2025 were not done maliciously but rather to maintain the "decorum and safety of the courtroom." "I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who's just trying to do my job," Dugan said, adding that she has had to retire from public life due to threats against her and her family.

• A prosecutor then acknowledged that "she has experienced collateral damage because of her conduct," but said "judges can't choose to disregard the law." US District Judge Lynn Adelman then spoke, saying Dugan made a bad decision and that he doesn't believe prison is necessary. "This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service," the judge said. "It's a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life." He also noted that Dugan's actions didn't stop the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.
• Prosecutors argued in a sentencing memo filed last week that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk. Dugan's attorneys argued she has been "punished enough," including resigning as a judge and facing threats of violence. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the presentence report called for 15 to 21 months behind bars. The judge was not bound by those guidelines.