(Bloomberg) — A Wisconsin state judge indicted for allegedly obstructing the arrest of a Mexican immigrant by federal authorities said the charges should be dismissed because she’s immune from prosecution for her official acts.
The prosecution of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah C. Dugan, who was arrested last month for events that allegedly occurred in and around her courtroom, “is virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional,” her lawyers argued Wednesday in a court filing seeking dismissal of the charges.
“Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court,” her lawyers said. “It is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset.”
Dugan is accused of trying to prevent US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on April 18 from arresting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who appeared before her to face domestic battery charges. The judge misled ICE officials and escorted Flores-Ruiz out of the court through a non-public exit to avoid authorities, prosecutors allege. She was indicted Tuesday.
Her arrest on April 25 came after President Donald Trump began his crackdown on illegal immigration, which has led to multiple lawsuits by migrants and by some states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Dugan is scheduled to be arraigned and enter a plea in the case Thursday in federal court before US Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Dries in Milwaukee.
Prosecutors and a lawyer for Dugan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case is US v. Dugan, 25-cr-89, US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin (Milwaukee).
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