A federal judge refuses to overturn a former Wisconsin circuit judge’s obstruction conviction Hannah Duganshe was found guilty in court of helping an undocumented man evade immigration officials. The ruling upholds Dugan’s felony conviction and moves her closer to sentencing, although she is unlikely to serve any jail time.
Judgments and Judges’ Decisions
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman declined to grant Dugan’s motion for a new trial or to overturn the conviction. Adelman had previously delayed sentencing to consider whether the conviction should be overturned, but ultimately ruled that the original verdict should be upheld. A new sentencing date was not immediately set.
Dugan’s legal team pushed back hard. Her defense said in a statement that “the court’s decision was wrong.” AP News.
On December 19, a federal jury convicted Dugan of felony obstruction of federal agents. She was acquitted of a lesser misdemeanor charge of concealing a person from federal law enforcement. Flores-Ruiz is reportedly currently in federal custody awaiting deportation to Mexico Wao.
What led to Dugan’s arrest
The case stems from an incident on April 18, 2025, when immigration officials went to milwaukee county The court was informed after it was learned that Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented man who had been deported during the Obama administration in 2013, had illegally re-entered the United States and was scheduled to appear in Dugan on a state battery case. Flores-Ruiz pleaded no contest to three counts of misdemeanor battery with a domestic abuse modifier, according to WAOW.
Dugan faced ice Agents outside the court told them their administrative order was not sufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz and directed them to the chief judge’s office. After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through the private jury door, a closed exit, while federal agents waited in the hallway. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the hallway, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. a week later, FBI Agents arrested Dugan at the courthouse and led her out in handcuffs, the Associated Press reported.
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Why a judge refused to overturn Dugan’s conviction
Dugan’s attorneys argued that her conviction should be thrown out based on a federal appeals court ruling in a separate Virginia immigration case that found ICE’s actions did not constitute “pending proceedings” under federal obstruction laws. They argue there is no such pending lawsuit against Flores-Ruiz, only an arrest warrant.
Judge Adelman disagreed, ruling that the attempted arrest did count as pending litigation because it was a planned, targeted operation rather than a random encounter. “The defendants argue that ICE is acting here as a law enforcement agency,” Adelman wrote, according to AP News. “But that ignores the fact that, unlike agencies like the FBI, ICE can issue its own warrants, adjudicate and effect deportations, as it did with Flores-Ruiz, without the involvement of the courts. That’s important.”
Dugan, 67, faces up to five years in prison, but is widely expected to receive probation given her clean criminal record and nonviolent convictions. She resigned from the bench two weeks after her conviction amid Republican impeachment threats, AP News reported.
