Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal charges that she helped a Mexican immigrant evade arrest at her courthouse last month. US Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries set a trial for the week of July 21 during the brief hearing, but Dugan's lawyers are trying to get the case dismissed. In a filing after Dugan was indicted on Tuesday, they cited last year's Supreme Court ruling that President Trump was entitled to absolute immunity for official acts, the Washington Post reports. "The problems with the prosecution are legion, but most immediately, the government cannot prosecute Judge Dugan because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts," the motion said, per TMJ4.
"Judges are entitled to absolute immunity for their judicial acts, without regard to the motive with which those acts are allegedly performed," the motion added, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lawyers also argued that the charges are a federal overreach violating the 10th Amendment, which covers states' rights. "The government's prosecution here reaches directly into a state courthouse, disrupting active proceedings, and interferes with the official duties of an elected judge," the motion said.
Dozens of protesters, some with signs like "Keep Your Hands Off Our Judges," gathered outside the federal courthouse in Milwaukee on Thursday, while a lone man with a Trump flag stood across the street, the AP reports. Dugan, who has been temporarily relieved of her duties, allegedly escorted Eduardo Flores Ruiz and his lawyer out of a jury exit while immigration officers were waiting outside the courtroom to arrest him. He was arrested anyway, and Dugan was arrested in her courtroom a week later. She could face a maximum of six years in prison if she's convicted of obstructing an official proceeding and concealing a person to prevent arrest. (More Hannah Dugan stories.)
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