Judge Hannah Dugan will not go on trial in her immigration collusion case next month after the federal judge handling the case delayed the trial Wednesday.
Judge Lynn Adleman told the court he wants to make sure the case is “done right.”
Dugan is facing two federal charges, one of them a felony, after prosecutors say she helped sneak an illegal Mexican immigrant out of the side door of her courtroom in May.
Video shows Dugan leave the bench to speak with ICE agents outside of her courtroom. It also shows her return to court, then order the suspect through the jury room, and eventually into a side hallway.
Dugan’s legal team is claiming judicial immunity.
This week they filed another brief that said the case should be dismissed because all judges have wide latitude in managing their courtrooms.
Dugan’s lawyers have said from the beginning that she cannot be held accountable.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Milwaukee essentially has said Dugan overstepped her authority when she allowed the immigrant to use the non-public section of her courtroom to try and evade immigration authorities.
Dugan was indicted on May 13. She was originally set for trial July 21.
Adleman did not set a new trial date, instead he said “I don’t think this is going to get lost.”
Dugan is on paid leave from her job as a Milwaukee County circuit court judge. She has raised more than $130,000 for her defense through an online legal defense fund, though she has not publicly said who has donated, or how much.
She has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Dugan is looking at six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.
