Trump DOJ’s Judge Prosecution BACKFIRES Spectacularly

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian cover the sentencing of former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who received a $5,000 fine and no prison time after the Trump DOJ spent 15 months pursuing a felony conviction over a few minutes of courtroom conduct. In April 2025, ICE agents with an administrative warrant (not signed by a judge) waited outside Dugan's courtroom to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Dugan directed the agents to check in with the chief judge per courthouse policy, then allowed Flores-Ruiz to exit through a side hallway. He walked past two agents, rode an elevator with an undercover agent, and was arrested outside minutes later. Trump's DOJ perp-walked Dugan in handcuffs a week later. A jury convicted her of felony obstruction but acquitted her of concealment. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman called it "a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service" and said prison was unnecessary. 138 retired judges, including federal judges and an ambassador, filed an amicus brief calling the prosecution executive overreach designed to chill the judiciary. Dugan resigned from the bench in January. Her attorneys plan to appeal to the Seventh Circuit, arguing judicial immunity should have barred the prosecution entirely. Kabateck LLP: Call 1-844-74-CIVIL for a free case evaluation or visit us at https://www.kbklawyers.com/ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@LegalAFMTN?sub_confirmation=1 Become a member of Legal AF YouTube community: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgZJZZbnLFPr5GJdCuIwpA/join Become a member of the Legal AF Substack: https://michaelpopok.substack.com/20off Follow Legal AF on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/legalafmtn.bsky.social Follow Michael Popok on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mspopok.bsky.social Subscribe to the Legal AF podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legal-af-by-meidastouch/id1580828595 Subscribe to the Intersection with Michael Popok podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intersection-with-michael-popok/id1818863274 Subscribe to Unprecedented with Michael Popok and Dina Doll podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unprecedented-by-legal-af/id1867023089 Subscribe to Court of History with Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-court-of-history/id1867022920