A federal grand jury indicted a Wisconsin judge Tuesday on charges she helped a man in the country illegally evade US immigration authorities looking to arrest him as he appeared before her in a local domestic abuse case, the AP reports. Prosecutors charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in April via complaint with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. In the federal criminal justice system, prosecutors can initiate charges against a defendant directly by filing a complaint or present evidence to a grand jury and let that body decide whether to issue charges.
A grand jury still reviews charges brought by complaint to determine whether enough probable cause exists to continue the case as a check on prosecutors' power. If the grand jury determines there's probable cause, it issues a written statement of the charges known as an indictment. That's what happened in Dugan's case. Dugan faces up to six years in prison if she's convicted on both counts. Her team of defense attorneys responded to the indictment with a one-sentence statement saying that she maintains her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court. She was scheduled to enter a plea on Thursday.
Prosecutors say Dugan escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back jury door on April 18 after learning that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking his arrest. Federal agents ultimately captured him outside the courthouse after a foot chase. The state Supreme Court suspended Dugan from the bench in late April, saying the move was necessary to preserve public confidence in the judiciary. A reserve judge is filling in for her. The case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a courthouse back door to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent. That case was eventually dismissed.
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