Former Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan has been ordered to pay a $5,000 fine but will serve no prison time for obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant at a courthouse. The 67-year-old was sentenced on Wednesday by US District Judge Lynn Adelman, having been convicted of felony obstruction after federal agents attempted to serve a warrant on Eduardo Flores-Ruiz on 18 April 2025. The case has become a flashpoint in the wider debate over immigration enforcement and judicial conduct.

Dugan had faced up to five years in prison, and prosecutors had requested a sentence of between 15 and 21 months. She was acquitted of a separate misdemeanour charge of concealing an individual to prevent arrest. Addressing the court before sentencing, she defended her conduct as being "consistent with community concerns at the courthouse" and free of malicious intent, and said she intended to "return to public service". Dugan resigned from her judgeship in January amid impeachment threats from Republican state lawmakers who branded her an activist judge, and several supporters, including a Jesuit priest and law professor, testified on her behalf.