A judge in the US state of Wisconsin was charged for allegedly helping a Mexican man evade immigration officials through a back door during an arrest attempt.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested in April. Now a federal grand jury has approved the two charges against her, which could see the judge face a prison term.
It marks a further escalation of Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on immigration, and has provoked an outcry from Democrats, who accuse the Trump administration of attacking the judicial system.
Judge Dugan’s defence lawyers argue that she is shielded from prosecution by a legal immunity that protects judges carrying out official acts.
In a motion to dismiss the case filed on Wednesday, the judge’s legal team noted that she “is no ordinary criminal defendant”.
On 18 April, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national facing three misdemeanour battery counts, appeared in the Milwaukee court for a scheduled hearing.
Six officers from the FBI, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and the Drug Enforcement Agency were at the court to arrest him.
According to an FBI affidavit, the Judge Dugan became “visibly angry commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers” when she learned of their presence.
After an argument in the hallway over the type of arrest warrant that had been issued, Judge Dugan told the officers to report to the chief judge, and while they were there, the affidavit says, she ushered Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer to a side door meant for jury members.
But they were seen by two agents.
Flores-Ruiz, who authorities say had previously been deported from the US in 2013, managed to exit the courthouse but was arrested just minutes later after a short foot chase.
Judge Dugan’s defence lawyers argued on Wednesday that even if she had taken the actions outlined by prosecutors, “these plainly were judicial acts for which she has absolute immunity from criminal persecution.”
“Judges are empowered to maintain control over their courtrooms specifically and the courthouse generally.”
Her motion cites Trump’s landmark Supreme Court case, in which the justices ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecutions related to their official acts. She cites the case to argue that “subjective motivations are irrelevant to immunity”.
At the time of her arrest, FBI director Kash Patel accused the judge of “intentionally misdirecting” immigration agents away from Flores-Ruiz, thus creating an “increased danger to the public”.
The presence of immigration officials at US courthouses has sparked fierce debate, largely along partisan lines.
Republicans have generally welcomed the move, saying that no one should be above the law.
Democrats, on the other hand, condemned the decision to arrest the judge, with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, calling it the Trump administration’s “attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”
Wisconsin’s supreme court suspended Judge Dugan from the bench in late April, saying the move was necessary to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.
She has been charged with obstruction and concealing an individual to avoid arrest, and faces a maximum of six years in prison if convicted on both charges.
Judge Dugan was released on her own recognisance, pending a hearing on Thursday when she is expected to enter a plea.
The day before her arrest, a former judge in New Mexico was taken into custody accused of harbouring an alleged Venezuelan gang member in his home.
Under the US judicial system, a federal grand jury usually comprises 16 to 23 members of the public. It is set up by a prosecutor to determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a prosecution, and in this case, it decided that the charges should go ahead.
By BBC News
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