milwaukee — A judge in Wisconsin charged Helping a Mexican immigrant evade federal authorities She is scheduled to present her case as her trial on obstruction and concealment charges concludes.
Prosecutors resumed their case against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Duggan on Wednesday after three days of testimony. Dogan’s defense lawyers said they plan to call four witnesses starting Thursday morning. It was not clear whether Duggan would take this position. Closing arguments could begin as early as Thursday afternoon.
The highly unusual charges against a sitting judge are an extraordinary result of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration campaign. Dugan’s supporters say Trump is looking to make an example of her to ease judicial opposition to immigration detentions.
Prosecutors tried to show that Duggan intentionally interfered with the efforts of federal immigration task force members to arrest 31-year-old Eduardo Flores Ruiz in Milwaukee District Court.
Task force members testified that they learned Flores-Ruiz was in the country illegally after he was arrested in Milwaukee on a state battery charge. He was scheduled to appear before Duggan on April 18. Six agents and officers staked out Duggan’s courtroom that morning, ready to arrest him when he walked out of the hearing.
They testified that Duggan and another judge, Cristela Cervera, entered the lobby dressed. Duggan angrily asked four of the team members to submit their report to the chief justice’s office.
When Cervera led them into the office, Duggan returned to the courtroom and led Flores-Ruiz out a private door into the hallway. Prosecutors produced copies of audio recordings from microphones in the courtroom that show Duggan told a court reporter Will withstand the heat To show Flores Ruiz outside your door.
Two agents missed Duggan during her confrontation with the team. They followed Flores-Ruiz outside and a foot chase through traffic ensued before he was finally arrested. Team members testified that Dugan divided them and forced them out of position, leaving them too short-handed to make a safe arrest in the hallway.
For her part, Cervera testified that she was not comfortable supporting Duggan during her encounters with the arrest team. she said I was shocked when she heard Dugan lead Flores-Ruiz out a private door, adding that judges should not help defendants avoid arrest. Cervera also testified that Duggan told her three days after the incident that Duggan was “in the doghouse” with Chief Judge Carl Ashley because she “tried to help that guy.”
Duggan’s attorneys responded during cross-examination that Duggan did not intend to obstruct the arrest team and was trying to follow a draft court policy from Ashley that called for court staff to refer immigration agents looking to make an arrest in the courtroom to supervisors.
They also argued that the arrest team could have arrested Flores-Ruiz at any time after he left the courtroom and Duggan should not be blamed for their decision to wait until he left.