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Ex‑Wisconsin Judge Faces Sentencing for Obstructing Immigration Arrest · GNN Daily Breaking News

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  Speaker 1: Former Milwaukee County Circuit judge Hannah Dugan is scheduled to
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  Speaker 1: be sentenced today July eighth, twenty twenty six, after being
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  Speaker 1: convicted of felony obstruction for helping a Mexican immigrant evade
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  Speaker 1: arrest by federal immigration agents. The case stems from a
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five incident in which Dugan ushered a defendant
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  Speaker 1: out of her court room to avoid detention by icy
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  Speaker 1: officers waiting outside. A jury found her guilty of obstruction,
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  Speaker 1: but acquitted her of a related misdemeanor charge of concealing
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  Speaker 1: an individual to prevent arrest. Facing threats of impeachment from
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  Speaker 1: Republican lawmakers who branded her an activist, judge, Dugan resigned
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  Speaker 1: her judge ship in January twenty twenty six after nine
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  Speaker 1: years on the bench. US District Judge Lynn Adelman will
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  Speaker 1: preside over sentencing. While the maximum penalty is five years
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  Speaker 1: in prison, federal guidelines recommend fifteen to twenty one months.
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  Speaker 1: Prosecutors argued Dugan violated her oath and endangered law enforcement,
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  Speaker 1: calling for a serious sentence. Defense attorneys counter that she
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  Speaker 1: has already been punished enough, citing her resignation, public backlash
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  Speaker 1: and one day spent in federal custody, and they are
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  Speaker 1: asking for no additional jail time. The case has sparked
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  Speaker 1: political controversy. Dugan's lawyers claim the prosecution was politically motivated,
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  Speaker 1: designed to enforce judicial compliance with I's strategy of targeting
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  Speaker 1: immigrants at court hearings, Trump ally and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate
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  Speaker 1: Tom Tiffany publicly urged authorities to lock her up after
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  Speaker 1: her conviction. In her resignation letter, Dugan warned the case
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  Speaker 1: threatened the independence of our judiciary. Prosecutors note that obstruction
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  Speaker 1: cases typically result in about sixteen months behind bars, though
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  Speaker 1: the judge is not bound by guidelines. Dugan's attorneys have
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  Speaker 1: already announced plans to appeal the conviction regardless of the sentence.
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  Speaker 1: Today's hearing will mark Dugan's first public comments in over
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  Speaker 1: a year, as she addresses the court before sentencing. The
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  Speaker 1: outcome will determine whether she faces prison time or a
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  Speaker 1: more lenient penalty, and it will likely fuel ongoing debates
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  Speaker 1: about judicial independence, immigration enforcement, and political influence over the courts.