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MILWAUKEE, WI — In a shocking development that has left progressive legal activists clutching their emotional support gavels, former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan discovered this week that the legal system she once presided over can, in fact, apply to judges too.
Dugan, who was convicted in December on a felony obstruction charge after helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade ICE agents at a courthouse, had hoped to avoid the unpleasant consequences of being found guilty by convincing the court that her conviction should simply disappear. Legal experts describe this strategy as "the Democrat prosecutor's favorite move" and "worth a shot."
Judge Lynn Adelman, however, apparently missed the memo.
After already rejecting one attempt to vaporize the conviction, Adelman denied Dugan's latest request for either a new trial or a judgment of acquittal, forcing the former judge to confront the radical notion that actions may have consequences.
Federal Judge Lynn Adelman denied former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan's request for a new trial or a judgment of acquittal after her felony conviction in December.
Adelman issued a 39-page order Monday explaining, in exhausting detail, why "because I don't like the verdict" is generally not considered a compelling legal argument.
"In any event, defendant fails to show that my response to the jury's second question was wrong," Adelman wrote, adding later that the defense "fails to demonstrate that she was prejudiced by the one I gave."
Sources say the defense team was disappointed to learn that federal courts continue to insist on evidence, legal reasoning, and other outdated procedural formalities.
Dugan also attempted to invoke judicial immunity, a doctrine apparently misunderstood by some as meaning, "I used to wear a robe, therefore the law cannot touch me." That argument met the same fate as the others.
As a result, Dugan's felony conviction remains intact.
The ruling serves as an uncomfortable reminder that while Flores-Ruiz was allegedly being escorted away from immigration authorities through courthouse back channels, the victims of the domestic violence case that brought him to court were still waiting for the justice system to work on their behalf.
Instead, they got a front-row seat to a judge allegedly helping the defendant make an unscheduled exit.
Dugan's attorneys have announced plans to appeal the conviction to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, because no modern legal drama is complete without at least one sequel.
No new sentencing date has been scheduled, leaving observers to wonder whether Dugan's next legal strategy will involve sovereign citizenship, interpretive dance, or claiming the courthouse was actually a sanctuary gazebo.
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