Ex-Wisconsin judge fined $5,000, avoids prison for helping immigrant evade ICE

Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan has been spared prison time for her role in helping a Mexican defendant evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Dugan, 67, to a $5,000 fine, citing her otherwise law-abiding life as a key factor in the decision. Dugan was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her defense team had argued that the Trump administration pursued her case to "crush" her and enforce its strategy of targeting immigrants appearing in court. Dugan resigned from her nine-year post as a Milwaukee County circuit judge in January, facing impeachment threats from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an "activist judge." In her resignation letter, she contended that her prosecution threatened "the independence of our judiciary." Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a prominent Trump supporter running for Wisconsin governor, had publicly called for her to be "locked up" after her conviction. Legal scholars, including former state Supreme Court Justice John Y. Hogan and Marquette University law professor Gregory O'Meara, spoke in Dugan's defense. O'Meara read a statement describing Dugan as a defender of the oppressed and questioning the need for punishment. Dugan herself addressed the court, stating her actions on the day in question were not malicious but aimed at maintaining courtroom "decorum and safety." She described herself as a public servant trying to do her job, not a scofflaw or a hero, and noted that threats against her and her family forced her retirement from public life. A prosecutor acknowledged Dugan had suffered "collateral damage" but maintained that judges cannot disregard the law. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman agreed that Dugan made a poor decision but found prison unnecessary, calling it a "marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life." He also pointed out that Dugan's actions did not prevent the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse. Prosecutors had sought a harsher sentence, arguing Dugan violated her oath and endangered law enforcement and the public. Jurors acquitted her of a misdemeanor charge of concealing an individual to prevent arrest.

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Hannah models what it means to be a Christian.