(MILwaukee, Wisconsin) The federal trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan opened Monday, December 15, 2025, with prosecutors telling jurors she used her authority inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse to help an undocumented man slip past ICE agents waiting to arrest him. Dugan, 60, is charged with obstructing or impeding a federal officer under 18 U.S.C. § 111 and concealing a person from arrest under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(3). Each count carries up to 6 years in prison and $350,000 in fines, according to the indictment.
The case, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, places a local judge at the center of a national debate over courthouse immigration arrests. It is being heard by U.S. Judge Lynn Adelman; no verdict was reached on opening day.
Opening statements and key claims
In opening statements at 9:00 a.m. ET, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille Kosciuk and William Lipscomb told jurors body-camera video and court witnesses would show Dugan “deliberately” interfered with agents who had come to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 37-year-old Mexican national, after he appeared for a child support hearing.
Supervisory Deportation Officer Corey Bialek, the first witness, testified that agents entered the courtroom at about 2:15 p.m. on April 23, 2025, after spotting Flores-Ruiz sitting in the gallery. Bialek said the team was acting on a targeted removal warrant and intended to take Flores-Ruiz into custody quietly after the hearing to avoid disrupting court. He testified the agents were in plain clothes and displayed badges, expecting routine cooperation in the public courthouse where federal officers often make arrests each year.
Prosecutors say the plan changed within minutes. According to testimony and recordings referenced in court:
- Dugan asked why ICE was in her courtroom, then ordered Flores-Ruiz into her chambers and told him to “stay put.”
- An audio clip played by prosecutors includes the judge saying, “ICE is here… don’t let them in.”
- The government says Dugan then locked the chamber door and directed staff to block agents from entering.
- When agents knocked and identified themselves, prosecutors say Dugan replied, “No, you’re not coming in,” and instructed her bailiff, Juan Figueroa, to refuse entry.
ICE body-camera footage timestamped 2:17 p.m. allegedly shows Dugan ushering Flores-Ruiz away from the public gallery. Court security video, the government says, captured him leaving through a back door into a hallway.
If you’re following the case, verify official updates on docket 25-CR-89 and PACER filings before drawing conclusions. Rely on court-recorded documents and statements rather than media summaries.
What happened afterward
Prosecutors said Flores-Ruiz was not arrested that day, and the episode ended with agents searching courthouse corridors while he blended into foot traffic. He was arrested later, on May 1, 2025, in Waukesha County, according to the indictment and court records.
In text messages cited by prosecutors, Flores-Ruiz wrote to family members after the courthouse encounter: “Judge saved me.” The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on May 14, 2025, frames the alleged conduct as more than a procedural dispute, arguing a judge’s closed door became a hiding place from lawful arrest.
U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Husa said in a May 15, 2025 Justice Department release:
“No one is above the law, not even a judge.”
He described the incident as “blatant interference.”
Defense case and arguments
Dugan has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer, Steve Biskupic, a former U.S. Attorney, told jurors at 10:30 a.m. ET the case turns on what a judge must do to keep order, not on immigration politics.
Biskupic’s key points:
- Flores-Ruiz was a litigant entitled to due process.
- ICE agents arrived without a judicial warrant, which he argued violated local courthouse security protocols.
- The judge did not know Flores-Ruiz’s full immigration or criminal history and reacted to a sudden law enforcement move inside a busy courtroom.
- Dugan’s actions were presented as a split-second safety choice, not a premeditated plan to help anyone “evade” arrest.
- The defense said agents could have waited outside rather than pressing chambers and staff.
Attorney Craig Mastantuono of Milwaukee, who has followed the filings, said the video evidence “is damning” for her.
Pretrial rulings, jury, and schedule
Before trial, U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper rejected a defense motion to dismiss. In a November 20, 2025 ruling, she said prosecutors had shown probable cause based on “direct evidence of concealment.”
Trial specifics:
- Jury selection completed December 12, 2025, producing 12 jurors and four alternates.
- Trial is before U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.
- Testimony from Bialek continued into the afternoon, with cross-examination still ongoing as of 6:00 p.m. UTC on opening day.
- The court expects a five- to seven-day trial, with closing arguments projected by December 22, 2025.
- The public can track filings through the federal courts’ PACER system at https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/fees/pacer-fees.
- Case docket: 25-CR-89 in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Prosecutors told jurors they would present video, audio, and text evidence from that afternoon.
Broader implications and competing viewpoints
The allegations touch on the larger tactic ICE has defended for years: making arrests at or near courthouses.
- In a statement dated April 24, 2025, ICE said: “Courthouse arrests are lawful when targeting criminals.” The agency asserts such arrests can be safer than street operations because officers expect screening and fewer weapons.
- Immigrant advocates and some judges counter that the presence of federal agents in court hallways can scare people away from appearing as victims, witnesses, or parties in family cases.
Avoid assuming guilt or outcome from opening statements. Focus on admissible evidence and legal standards instead of partisan interpretations or leaked footage; the jury must weigh facts impartially.
David Bier of the Migration Policy Institute told reporters courthouse arrests have reduced immigrant court appearances by 25% in similar jurisdictions, citing a 2024 study. He said fear can spread fast, even when ICE targets one person.
Supporters of prosecuting Dugan stress another question: whether local officials can block federal enforcement. Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies said, “Judges have no authority to obstruct federal warrants; this sets a dangerous precedent.”
Prosecutors have emphasized Flores-Ruiz’s record to argue agents were pursuing a public safety threat, noting:
- A deportation order from 2006
- Wisconsin convictions for substantial battery in 2019 and fourth-degree sexual assault in 2020
Defense lawyers counter that the charges against Dugan concern her conduct, not relitigation of Flores-Ruiz’s past, and they urged jurors not to punish a judge for a national policy dispute.
Impact on Wisconsin’s judiciary and courthouse community
The case has already shaken the state’s judiciary. Four days after the incident, on April 28, 2025, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler suspended Dugan without pay, a step Milwaukee County Circuit Chief Judge Carl Ashley called “unprecedented.”
Inside the courthouse, attorneys handling immigration-related family cases say clients now ask whether appearing for child support or custody could lead to an ICE encounter. The defense emphasized Flores-Ruiz’s hearing was not a criminal case, which is one reason legal aid groups serving mixed-status families have taken notice.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, courthouse enforcement often has ripple effects because one arrest can cause many families to skip court dates. Prosecutors reply that fear cannot excuse a judge’s direct interference with federal agents.
Ongoing testimony and legal focus
In court on Monday, Bialek described approaching Dugan’s staff and waiting near the courtroom door, then seeing the defendant’s seat empty and Flores-Ruiz gone. He said agents believed they were close enough to make the arrest when the judge intervened and that they did not expect a locked door inside a public courthouse.
The defense questioned Bialek about:
- Whether agents had a judge-signed warrant
- Whether they followed security rules for the Milwaukee County Courthouse
Trial is预计 to run five to seven days with closing arguments around December 22, 2025. Mark calendars for updates, schedules, and potential rulings from Judge Adelman and the district court.
That dispute is likely to shape how jurors interpret the legal elements of the charges, including what it means to “impede” an officer and to “conceal” someone from arrest.
For now, the trial continues, with more ICE agents expected to testify about what they saw and heard over the coming days.
Judge Hannah Dugan stands trial on charges she obstructed federal officers and concealed a person after allegedly directing an undocumented litigant into her chambers and blocking ICE agents. Prosecutors rely on body‑camera video, audio and witness testimony; the defense says she acted to protect courtroom security and due process. The litigant, Eduardo Flores‑Ruiz, was arrested later on May 1, 2025. The five‑ to seven‑day trial continues before Judge Lynn Adelman with closing arguments expected by Dec. 22, 2025.
