The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan from performing her judicial duties following her arrest and federal charges for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest by federal authorities.
Judge Dugan, 65, was charged last week by the FBI with obstruction of justice and concealing an individual from arrest.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an order stating Dugan is “temporarily relieved of her official duties” pending the outcome of the criminal case.
“In the exercise of (the) constitutional authority and in order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude, in our own motion, that it is in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties,” the court said.
The suspension prohibits Dugan from exercising any judicial power until further notice.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Judge Dugan allegedly shielded 30-year-old Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents following a court hearing on April 18.
Flores-Ruiz was in court facing three misdemeanor battery charges stemming from a March incident.
Flores-Ruiz had previously been deported from the United States in 2013.
Authorities noted there was no record of a legal reentry into the country.
The complaint states that two plainclothes Customs and Border Protection agents were waiting outside the courtroom with a warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest when Judge Dugan became aware of their presence.
According to the report, Dugan confronted the agents in the hallway with an “angry demeanor” and initially demanded they leave.
After being shown the arrest warrant, she reportedly directed them to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office.
Rather than returning to a standard courtroom process, Dugan then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his defense attorney through the “jury door,” a non-public exit normally reserved for deputies, juries, and in-custody defendants, the complaint alleges.
“These events were also unusual for two reasons,” the complaint said.