Harry Litman - The Feds' Overreach in Judge Dugan Case

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

When word broke on Friday about the arrest of a sitting Wisconsin state court judge, Hannah Dugan, on charges of obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant, my immediate reaction on Bluesky was “Whoa. Feels like massive overreaching.”

-snip-

A perusal of the facts, as laid out in the affidavit of an FBI agent accompanying the criminal complaint, easily isolates the weak spot in the case.

The six-agent team that had gathered in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to arrest Eduardo Flores Ruiz, who was appearing in Judge Dugan's courtroom on domestic violence charges, had not worked out a protocol for Ruiz's arrest. Dugan was angry when she learned of their presence and demanded that they speak with the chief judge. She then returned to her courtroom, adjourned Ruiz’s case, and directed him to leave through the jury door.

Although the key detail is obfuscated in the FBI affidavit, the jury door led directly back to the same public hallway, where one agent was waiting as Ruiz and his counsel emerged. (The others were conferring with the Chief Judge.) The agent followed Ruiz and his lawyer and went down the elevator with them. Other agents joined them and sought to arrest Ruiz in front of the courthouse. Ruiz ran and was arrested after a foot chase lasting the length of the courthouse.

https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-feds-overreach-in-judge-dugan

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Judge Dugan was arrested without presenting case to grand jury-this was a stunt to whip MAGA faithful into a frenzy

I am a corporate lawyer but I do know basic federal criminal procedure. Judge Dugan was arrested on a magistrate warrant and the case had NOT been presented to a grand jury. Before this case can go to trial, this case has to be presented to and voted on by a grand jury. The arrest on Friday was a stunt to "whip the MAGA faithful into a frenzy." One can arrest a suspect without a grand jury indictment but normally there has to be good reason for such arrest
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lnuuhqajbk2j

New in PN: Arresting judges is a 5-alarm escalation

"It’s not just that Dugan was arrested, but how she was arrested. The whole point was to cause a scene. There’s no allegation she was attempting to evade arrest, but the FBI still forced a sitting judge to do a perp walk at her place of work."

Link to tweet

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-bondi-arresting-judges-hannah-dugan

It’s not just that Dugan was arrested, but also how she was arrested. The whole point was to cause a scene. She was arrested Friday morning in the parking lot of the Milwaukee County Courthouse, complete with handcuffs. There’s no allegation she was a flight risk or was attempting to evade arrest, but the FBI still forced a sitting judge to do a perp walk at her place of work.

Additionally, Dugan was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint signed by a federal magistrate judge. There’s nothing improper about that as such, but for felonies in federal court, prosecutors must convene a grand jury and present evidence. Only if the grand jury returns an indictment can someone be prosecuted.

Going before a grand jury isn’t a nicety or a minor procedural step. The Fifth Amendment requires it. Arresting Dugan before convening a grand jury was intended to get flashy headlines and whip the MAGA faithful into a frenzy. Even if a grand jury declines to indict Dugan, the administration has succeeded in creating a climate of fear and suspicion.

Recall that although Trump faced 88 charges in four criminal cases for much worse things than what Dugan is accused of, he was always charged by indictment after presentation to a grand jury and allowed to turn himself in. Here he is in Georgia, where he faced 13 felony counts for trying to overturn the 202 election. Here he is in New York, where he faced — and was convicted of — 34 felonies related to falsifying business records to hide his hush payments to Stormy Daniels. New York state was so solicitous of Trump that he didn’t even have to have his mug shot taken. When he voluntarily surrendered in Miami for the classified documents case, he wasn’t handcuffed.,,,,,

It will be interesting to see a grand jury would indict this judge on the actual facts

One hurdle prosecutors might have in securing an indictment against Dugan was that ICE had an administrative warrant, not a judicial warrant, for Flores-Ruiz. The criminal complaint obscures this, referring only to a “warrant” or an “arrest warrant” in most places. The only time an administrative warrant is mentioned is when the complaint quotes Dugan saying it.

As much as the administration would like it to be otherwise, those administrative warrants aren’t the same as judicial warrants. Judicial warrants are signed by a federal or state judge or magistrate and must be complied with as long as they are valid. Administrative warrants — also known as immigration warrants — are issued by administrative agencies such as ICE and signed by an immigration judge. Despite also being called judges, immigration judges are not part of the judicial branch. They are appointed by the attorney general and are part of the executive branch.

I wonder if this case will ever be presented to a grand jury,