United States of America v. Hannah Dugan

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with obstruction of proceedings before a federal government department or agency in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1505.

Reported by Kent Morlan

On April 18, 2025, six members of the DHS, Immigration Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ICE ERO”) Task Force arrived at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz. Flores-Ruiz was charged with three domestic-violence related misdemeanors and was scheduled to appear in front of then Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. Flores-Ruiz was also previously removed from the United States and was in the country illegally. The ICE ERO task force officers had a lawful administrative warrant for his arrest, which directed that he be taken into custody for immigration proceedings. The task force officers intended to arrest Flores-Ruiz in the public hallway after his hearing, communicated the same to Dugan’s courtroom deputy prior to Dugan’s arrival, and identified themselves to courthouse security. They then waited quietly and unobtrusively in the public hallway. They were wearing plain clothes and were not wearing masks.

Evidence at trial showed that the non-public hallway led to a door to a stairwell and a door into the public hallway. Dugan’s court reporter offered to show Flores-Ruiz and his attorney where to leave because they might go through the door that led to the public hallway, which her court reporter referred to as the “wrong door.” Dugan declined her offer and responded, “I’ll do it. I’ll get the heat.” Agents were able to ultimately arrest Flores-Ruiz outside the courthouse after he fled on foot in front of moving traffic in the rain. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Adelman found that Dugan had abused a position of public trust and that the conviction in this case “affirms that no one is above the law.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with assistance from the United States Department of Homeland Security.

A federal jury found Dugan guilty of that felony offense following a four-day trial in December 2025. She was fined $5,000.