Name: Trial begins for judge accused of helping immigrant evade authorities
Uploaded: 2025-12-16T08:45:07.928Z
Duration: 4 min 21 s
Description: A trial began Monday for a Milwaukee judge accused of helping an immigrant evade federal authorities in April.

A trial began Monday for a Milwaukee judge accused of helping an immigrant evade federal authorities in April.

Wisconsin

The federal trial of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan has commenced in Milwaukee, where she faces charges of assisting undocumented immigrant Eduardo Flores Ruiz in evading arrest by immigration authorities. Prosecutors allege that Judge Dugan intentionally helped Flores Ruiz, who was facing battery and domestic abuse charges, exit the courthouse through a nonpublic area after learning federal agents were present.

The defense argues that Judge Dugan's actions were not out of the ordinary and that there was confusion about courthouse policy regarding ICE agents. The trial, presided over by Judge Lynn Edelman, is expected to last about one week, with evidence including video and audio recordings from the day of the alleged incident.

Trial begins for judge accused of helping immigrant evade authorities

And the federal trial is underway for Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan. She's accused of helping an undocumented man hide from immigration authorities. If convicted, she could face up to six years in prison. Scripps News Group Senior National Political Correspondent Charles Benson is live just outside that courtroom in Milwaukee. So, Charles, before we get to what all of this happened today, remind us how we got here. Yeah, good afternoon, Stephanie. We're inside the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee. As you know, there are no cameras allowed in the courtroom, but we're inside to help tell you the events that are happening here. And it's a case involving Judge Hannah Dugan. She works in another court several blocks from here as part of the state court system. And it's the alleged events that happened in that courtroom that got us here today. She is alleged to have helped that undocumented immigrant, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, evade or help him avoid arrest by federal agents. Six had showed up that day back in April, and that's what this case is all about, Stephanie. So what have we heard so far today in the courtroom? So today has really been about the first impression for jurors about this case. They got the opening statements from the federal prosecutors and the defense team. Now, the federal team is trying to outline that Judge Hannah Dugan, they allege here that she was intentional about her efforts to help Eduardo Flores Ruiz when he was there in her courtroom that day. He was facing battery and domestic abuse charges, and he was later found to be in this country illegally. But she was concerned that ICE agents had shown up outside of her courtroom, and that concerned her. And what the federal government has said, once she learned that, everything that was supposed to be an ordinary day in her courtroom changed, where she then tries to get the federal agents to go see the chief judge and then try to help Flores Ruiz get out of the building through a nonpublic hallway and a nonpublic door there. So, in fact, in the opening statement, federal prosecutors say that Dugan is said to have said, I'll do it, I'll get the heat. So those are key words that they focus on, the first seven words out of the federal prosecutor's mouth. Now, the defense team here is with Stephen Viscubic, and the reason why I mention him, he's a former U.S. attorney in this building. He's now a defense lawyer, and he was leading the opening statements here for Judge Hannah Dugan. He is pushing back on everything that the government is suggesting here, saying there was nothing extraordinary or different about what Judge Dugan was doing that day the agents arrived. What he does say is that there was a lot of confusion around what is the policy, what happens when ICE agents arrive at a courthouse. Now, you might say, why were they there to make the arrest there versus anywhere else? And federal prosecutors say because they felt that was a safe environment. You have to go through metal detectors, you have to, you know, go through security to get in the building, and that's why they were there. They felt that would have been a safer place to arrest Flores Ruiz. Stephanie? Charles, do we have any idea how long this trial might last? Well, you know, Judge Lynn Edelman, who is presiding over this case, has been hinting at that he thinks it's going to run one week. He did suggest there is an outside chance that it could go into next week. But the state or the federal government is saying it looks like they'll take about three days to present their case. We've already heard from one witness, and it was pretty meticulous testimony here. We've also heard from a special FBI agent who's telling jurors specifically about the layout of that courtroom. So they get a sense of where Dugan's courtroom was, where the public hallway was, where you can see. By the way, there is video of this area. On the day of April 18th, there's audio recordings as well. So there's going to be a lot of testimony coming from what actually happened just in a matter of few minutes inside that Milwaukee courthouse. Stephanie? Charles Benson, live for us in Milwaukee. Thank you very much for staying on top of this story for us this afternoon. We appreciate it.

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