Who is Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan?

A judge in Milwaukee is accused of helping a man evade immigration functionaries a incident that has this instant become a high-profile confrontation between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the Republican administration s immigration policies Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday FBI Director Kash Patel broadcasted the move via social media saying Dugan increased danger to the society by letting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer leave her courtroom through a jury door on April to help avert his arrest according to an FBI affidavit Flores-Ruiz a native of Mexico had been in court on a battery charge Here s what we know about the circumstance so far WHO IS DUGAN Dugan has been a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge since her referendum in She previously was a litigation attorney and served administrative jobs at Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc and Legal Aid Society Inc She also has taught law and graduate students at Marquette University Dugan was the president of the Milwaukee Bar Association from - and at one point worked at Catholic Charities of Southeastern Wisconsin Inc She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in with a bachelor of arts degree and earned her Juris Doctorate in from the school WHAT IS SHE ACCUSED OF The FBI took Dugan into custody Friday on the courthouse grounds the same building federal immigration agents entered last week in search of Flores-Ruiz Flores-Ruiz had been removed from the U S through Arizona over a decade ago and there is no evidence he got permission to return according to the affidavit A fingerprint match prompted U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to go to the Milwaukee courthouse and wait outside Dugan s courtroom during his appearance After learning the agents were there Dugan became visibly angry according to the affidavit She and another judge approached the members of the arrest band in a courthouse hallway and sent them to the chief judge s office Dugan then returned to her courtroom and ushered Flores-Ruiz and his attorney into the jury door according to the affidavit Defendants not in custody and their attorneys never use the jury door the affidavit indicates only deputies jurors court staff and defendants who are in custody That allegedly helped Flores-Ruiz get out of the building using an elevator Agents nonetheless spotted him and after a foot chase arrested him outside WHAT DOES THE JUDGE SAY ABOUT THE ACCUSATIONS Nothing yet The judicial code of conduct restricts judges from commenting on pending or impending matters in any court Judge Dugan s court calendar will be covered by another judge as needed District One Chief Judge Carl Ashley explained in a comment Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson a Democrat declared the arrest was clearly more about hype than it was keeping our area safe I really do wish that the Trump administration would focus less on settling scores with perceived feasible enemies and focus their attention more on things that really matter Johnson explained Tom Barrett a former U S congressman and mayor of Milwaukee for years explained he was friends with Dugan s older sister in high school and has known Dugan since she was He has not spoken with her about the arrest Barrett stated Dugan is very professional cares deeply about the society and is committed to justice and fairness As a person and a judge she invariably tries to do the right thing and she cares deeply about the neighborhood and people and justice Barrett reported WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Dugan has a court development not as a prosecutor or judge but as a defendant She is due back in court on May Outside the courthouse Friday dozens of people gathered to protest Judge Dugan will be free No justice no peace chosen chanted The judge s arrest could discourage people from reporting crimes even reporting a fire for example for fear of arrest they declared These actions are transparently meant to be chilling cruel and undermining the rule of law mentioned Melinda Brennan executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin Brian Schimming chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin disclosed in a social media message that Dugan s arrests shows nobody s above the law even judges She knowingly was violating the law if the Democrats want to defend that they re not hearing the citizens he announced Associated Press reporters Scott Bauer in Milwaukee and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this description Source