Judge Dugan sentencing set June 3

Former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan will be sentenced on June 3 in federal court for obstructing immigration agents.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman scheduled the sentencing for 10 a.m. in the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.

Adelman rejected a multi-faceted appeal by Dugan’s legal team on April 6.

Dugan’s lawyers argued the jury’s verdict should be overturned because judges are immune from prosecution, ICE agents aren’t allowed to make arrests in courthouses and Adelman answered a jury question incorrectly.

After Adelman’s ruling, Dugan’s team said it will appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Case put Milwaukee in immigration spotlight

The case thrust Dugan to the forefront of the clash between the judiciary and the Trump administration as it conducts an immigration crackdown nationwide.

A jury found Dugan guilty of obstructing federal agents, a felony, on Dec. 18, for trying to help an undocumented immigrant from Mexico elude a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest team. The jury found her not guilty on a misdemeanor charge of concealing that person from agents.

Dugan’s sentencing will take place in Adelman’s historic courtroom at the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.

Adelman set a deadline of May 27 for both the government and defense to submit sentencing motions, memoranda or supporting material such as letters by Dugan supporters.

A state judge for nine years, Dugan faces up to five years in prison, but it is unlikely she would get time behind bars. For a defendant like Dugan with no criminal history who is convicted of a nonviolent crime, federal sentencing guidelines generally call for probation.

Dugan, 66, resigned from the bench on Jan. 3, as an effort to impeach her and remove her from the bench was mounting within the Republican-controlled state Legislature.