Suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Judge charged with aiding an illegal immigrant, Hannah Dugan, has filed a petition to dismiss her case, citing extraordinary circumstances.
A grand jury recently indicted the county judge for concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of justice. If convicted of the two charges, she faces up to six years in prison or a fine of up to $350,000.
“This is no ordinary case, and Dugan is no ordinary criminal defendant,” the petition stated.
It also makes outrageous claims that the government’s prosecution of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge was “virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional” and “violates the Tenth Amendment and fundamental principles of federalism.”
Additionally, it claims that Judge Dugan is “entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts.” However, after entering her plea, Dugan refused to answer questions about whether she had judicial immunity.
I am not an attorney, but I believe the alleged obstruction occurred outside her official duty as she was not presiding over a case challenging the suspect’s detention due to his immigration status.
Seemingly, the judge should have waited for a case challenging his detention and set him free by ruling in his favor, instead of injecting herself into a matter that was not before the court.
Similarly, the judge is not responsible for escorting defendants out of the court through a non-public entry. If it were, she could have just ordered it through an official ruling.
Additionally, Dugan is a county judge and not a federal judge, suggesting that she did not have the authority to stop the arrest of an illegal immigrant by federal authorities.
Meanwhile, several experts have weighed in on Judge Dugan’s motion to dismiss the charges. At the very least, she must go through a trial to dismiss the charges.
“You can certainly disagree with her motivations, but that’s not something that a judge can just assume without a trial. So my assumption is that the motion to dismiss today will be indeed turned down by the court,” tweeted George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley.
University of Wisconsin professor Howard Schweber also says that while judicial immunity exists for judicial rulings, it is nonexistent for administrative actions, such as who can be in the courtroom.
However, liberal NYT’s David Brooks said that while escorting a defendant through the jury door looks like “something illegal,” it could be heroic in times of civil disobedience.
Nonetheless, Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley said the judge was not above the law and should be prosecuted to the fullest.
“Let every other judge and member of Congress out there take a lesson from this. You are not above the law.”
On Thursday, Judge Dugan entered a “not guilty” plea on the same grounds, with her team asserting her innocence and determination to fight the charges. Her case was assigned to an 85-year-old Clinton-appointed U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.
Meanwhile, leftwing protesters gathered outside the court during her arraignment, holding signs displaying various messages, such as “No Justice, No Peace,” “Stop Judicial Intimidation,” “STOP THE COUP,” “Intimidation is a tool of Fascism,” and “Show me what democracy looks like.”
