FBI arrests judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities

Post by mullingitover » Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 5:28 PM UTC

mjburgess wrote: post #51

kemayo wrote: post #16

> He accused Dugan of “intentionally misdirecting” federal agents who arrived at the courthouse to detain an immigrant who was set to appear before her in an unrelated proceeding. It sounds like the arrest isn't because of any official act of the judge, but rather over them either not telling the ICE agents where the person was or giving them the wrong information about their location. There are some pretty broad law…

1. It isnt clear ICE agents have any legal authority to demand a judge tell them anything. 2. It is highly likely this is an official act, since it would be taken on behalf of court, so the immigrant can give, eg. testimony in a case. A "private act" here would be the judge lying in order to prevent their deportation because they as a private person wanted to do so. It seems highly unlikely that this is the case.

Post by adolph » Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 5:28 PM UTC

kemayo wrote: post #93

mjburgess wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. It isnt clear ICE agents have any legal authority to demand a judge tell them anything. 2. It is highly likely this is an official act, since it would be taken on behalf of court, so the immigrant can give, eg. testimony in a case. A "private act" here would be the judge lying in order to prevent their deportation because they as a private person wanted to do so. It seems highly unlikely that this is the case.

I updated my post with new information from the updated article, and in the context of that I think you're pretty much right. It sounds like the judge basically said "you need permission to arrest someone in the middle of my hearing, go get it" and then didn't change anything about the process of their hearing while that permission was being obtained. This was definitely not them being helpful , but I'm incredibly do…

  Later that morning, Attorney B realized that FloresRuiz’s case had never 
  been called and asked the court about it. Attorney B learned that 
  FloresRuiz’s case had been adjourned. This happened without Attorney B’s 
  knowledge or participation, even though Attorney B was present in court to 
  handle Flores-Ruiz’s case on behalf of the state, and even though victims 
  were present in the courtroom.

  A Victim Witness Specialist (VWS) employed by the Milwaukee County District 
  Attorney’s Office was present in Courtroom 615 on April 18, 2025. The VWS 
  made contact with the victims in Flores-Ruiz’s criminal case, who were also 
  in court. The VWS was able to identify Flores-Ruiz based upon the victims’ 
  reactions to his presence in court. The VWS observed Judge DUGAN gesture 
  towards Flores-Ruiz and an unknown Hispanic woman. [...] The VWS stated that 
  Judge DUGAN then exited through the jury door with Flores-Ruiz and the 
  Hispanic woman. The VWS was concerned because Flores-Ruiz’s case had not yet 
  been called, and the victims were waiting. 

Post by fencepost » Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 5:29 PM UTC

djoldman wrote: post #155

The arrest itself (not necessarily the charges) is best described as a publicity stunt. If you want to charge a lawyer or judge or anyone unlikely to run of a non-violent crime, you invite them to the station: > “First and foremost, I know -- as a former federal prosecutor and as a defense lawyer for decades – that a person who is a judge, who has a residence who has no problem being found, should not be arrested, if…

Post by whoknowsidont » Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 5:29 PM UTC

_mlbt wrote: post #175

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing wrong with deporting illegal immigrants through legal channels that allow for due process and follow the rulings of immigration courts. Something very wrong with sending deportation notices or trying to sic immigration enforcement on American citizens.

> Something very wrong with sending deportation notices or trying to sic immigration enforcement on American citizens. I must have missed that, when did that happen?

Post by lolinder » Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 5:33 PM UTC

AIPedant wrote: post #448

lolinder wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it can be proven that she deliberately escorted the person through the non-public exit to the courtroom with the intent of helping them evade arrest by officers with a warrant who were waiting outside at the other entrance, how would that not be an arrestable offence? We're extremely light on facts right now, so I'm not taking the above quoted story at face value, but if one were to take it at face value it seems…

The part that makes it not so clear cut is that this is really a constitutional issue rather than a criminal one. It is not credible that the judge was trying to ensure the man could keep living in the US undocumented. She was defending her court. From a judge's POV, arresting a plantiff/defendant in the middle of a trial is a violation of their right to a trial and impedes local prosecutors' abilities to seek justic…