MILWAUKEE — U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman declined to overturn Hannah Dugan's obstruction of justice conviction on June 16, 2026. Judge Adelman did not immediately set a sentencing date for Dugan.

A jury convicted Dugan on December 19 of obstruction of justice, following her actions in April 2025 where she helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade immigration officers at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. "The court's decision is wrong," Dugan's legal defense team said in a statement.

On April 18, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrived at the Milwaukee County courthouse to locate Flores-Ruiz, who had a scheduled hearing for a state battery case. Dugan confronted the agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge's office, stating their administrative warrant was insufficient grounds for arrest.

After the ICE agents left the area, Dugan led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in a corridor, followed him outside, and arrested him after a foot chase. Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.

FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse a week after the April 18 incident. Dugan's attorneys argued her conviction was invalid because filing an arrest warrant does not constitute a "pending proceeding" under federal law. A federal appeals court overturned a Virginia immigration case in April, ruling that an ICE detention in that matter did not constitute a "pending proceeding" under federal obstruction law.

Judge Adelman ruled that the attempted arrest of Flores-Ruiz counted as a "pending proceeding" because it was a planned and targeted operation. "Defendant argues that ICE was acting as a law enforcement agency here," Adelman wrote. "But this ignores the fact that, unlike, say, the FBI, ICE can issue its own warrants and adjudicate and effectuate a removal, as it did with Flores-Ruiz, without the involvement of a court. This makes a difference."

Dugan resigned from her position as a Milwaukee County circuit judge two weeks after her conviction. She was also acquitted of a misdemeanor charge of concealing an individual to prevent arrest. Dugan, 67, served as a judge for nine years and had no prior criminal history. She faces a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $350,000 upon sentencing. Federal sentencing guidelines generally recommend probation for defendants with no criminal history who are convicted of nonviolent crimes. This case marked the first time a state judge in Wisconsin stood trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents.