MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday.
Dugan was arrested and charged last month with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstructing. Federal agents said the charges trace back to an arrest they were attempting to make inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18. The complaint outlines the plans to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was charged with battery and abuse following an altercation with his roommates in Milwaukee.
According to court documents, Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013.
Dugan was indicted Tuesday after a federal grand jury concluded there was enough probable cause to move the case forward. Her attorneys swiftly filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against her, citing judicial immunity for her official acts.
Watch: Judge Dugan expected to plead 'not guilty' during federal court appearance
“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 says. “Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset.”
Dugan was temporarily suspended of her official duties following her arrest, with the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, "that it is in the public interest that [Dugan] be temporarily relieved of her official duties."
She’s due back in federal court July 9 at 10:30 a.m. for a pretrial; her trial is set for July 22, according to our crew at the courthouse.
