Category: Eduardo flores ruiz
Trial for Milwaukee judge accused of helping illegal alien evade ICE set to begin
The trial for a sitting Wisconsin judge is set to begin after she allegedly helped an illegal alien avoid ICE arrest in April.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s trial will begin Monday. Dugan is charged with obstruction of federal proceedings and concealing a person from arrest in connection with Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal alien who later pled guilty to re-entering the U.S. and no contest to one count of battery.
According to court filings, Dugan became ‘visibly angry’ when she learned about ICE’s presence, Reuters reported.
According to the Associated Press, the trial will begin with opening statements from the defense and prosecution as well as testimony from the prosecution’s first witness. The prosecution’s case will likely span most of the week, with around two dozen witnesses ready to take the stand.
Dugan faces up to six years in prison if convicted of both charges.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Dugan is accused of assisting Flores-Ruiz in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents upon learning that they were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest him.
According to court filings, Dugan became “visibly angry” when she learned about ICE’s presence, Reuters reported. She also falsely told law enforcement that they needed a judicial warrant to carry out an arrest, according to the prosecution.
Flores-Ruiz was allegedly shown a side door through which he fled the scene. He was apprehended by ICE agents outside the courthouse after a short foot race.
Dugan lost a bid to dismiss the charges against her in August. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected the argument that she was acting in her official capacity as a judge, ruling that “there is no firmly established judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution of judges for judicial acts.”
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Illegal alien learns his fate after a Wisconsin judge allegedly helped him evade ICE
The illegal alien whom a Wisconsin judge allegedly helped to evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement received his sentence for a criminal conviction following months in custody.
On Wednesday, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, was sentenced to time served and will be deported after being arrested by federal officials in Milwaukee in April.
Prosecutors claim Dugan escorted Eduardo and his lawyer out of the courtroom through a back door.
He pled guilty on September 4 to re-entering the United States, WTMJ reported.
U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper handed down the sentence at a hearing on Wednesday following a plea deal including a promise to never return to the United States.
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Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
According to the AP, Judge Pepper told Flores-Ruiz: “I very much hope you can find a way to make a living back home rather than coming back here.”
Flores-Ruiz will remain in custody until his deportation.
Flores-Ruiz’s attorney, Martin Pruhs, told the AP that his client was awaiting deportation in “the near future” but declined to provide further comment.
The full story, however, started more than seven months ago.
In March, ICE agents were alerted that Flores-Ruiz was due in court for three counts of battery. At a court appearance the following month in connection with the battery charges, Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan allegedly interfered with federal ICE agents who were attempting to arrest Flores-Ruiz at the conclusion of his hearing.
Prosecutors claim Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of the courtroom through a back door on April 18. Flores-Ruiz was able to flee the agents on foot before his apprehension.
The following week, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Dugan’s arrest for obstruction, saying, in part, “Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot, and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”
Dugan was indicted in May, and U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied a motion to dismiss the charges against her in August.
“There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job,’” Adelman wrote in the order, according to WTMJ.
Dugan’s trial is scheduled for December 15.
Flores-Ruiz pled no contest to one count of battery in October. He was sentenced to time served in that case as well.
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