Ex-Milwaukee judge avoids prison, fined $5,000 for helping undocumented migrant evade ICE

Former Milwaukee County circuit Judge Hannah Dugan will not be going to prison or facing probation after a federal judge fined her $5,000 on Wednesday for helping an undocumented immigrant avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were waiting outside the courtroom. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said prison is not "necessary," adding, "This is a defendant, upset by immigration policies in this country, who made a bad decision in the moment," as per the Associated Press.

"She appreciated the wrongfulness of her conduct, but this is nevertheless a few minutes of conduct for a person that has dedicated her life in service to the needy," he said during the sentencing, as she faced up to five years in prison. The federal sentencing guidelines called for 15 to 21 months behind bars, according to Minnesota Lawyer, which also pointed out that Adelman did not need to follow them.

The 67-year-old was convicted of felony obstruction in December last year after she directed Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican citizen, away from ICE agents who were waiting for him outside her courtroom. Flores-Ruiz, who was in the U.S. illegally, was set to appear on domestic battery charges. Her efforts were in vain, as Flores-Ruiz was arrested after a short chase. Dugan was elected to the bench in 2016 and was forced to resign amid threats of impeachment by the state's Republican lawmakers.

Dugan defended her actions in court before her sentence was pronounced. "For more than a year, the circumstances of this prosecution have been politicized. I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job," she was quoted as saying by The New York Times. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened "the independence of the judiciary" in the state.

The case marked the first time a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents and was widely perceived as an effort by the Justice Department to penalize local officials challenging President Trump's agenda. "Rather than uphold the rule of law, the defendant used the power and prestige of judicial office to obstruct federal agents to help an individual evade arrest," prosecutors said, calling for the sentence to reflect the "serious nature of her conduct and its broader impact on the justice system," Reuters reported.