A federal judge in Wisconsin has turned down Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan’s bid to dismiss her case, clearing the way for a trial on charges that she obstructed immigration officers who came to her courtroom to make an arrest.
In an opinion issued on Aug. 26, Judge Lynn Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin rejected Dugan’s argument that her conduct was protected under the doctrine of judicial immunity, which generally shields jurists from being sued for actions taken in their official capacity.
“There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of the judge’s job,’” Adelman wrote in the 27-page opinion. “The same is true in the bribery prosecutions, concededly valid, where the judges were prosecuted for performing official acts intertwined with bribery.”…