Indicted Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan believes she is shielded from prosecution in a federal case accusing her of obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant who was before her court, according to a filing submitted by her lawyers on Thursday.

Dugan was arrested in April and indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month on obstruction charges for her alleged role in helping the migrant evade immigration authorities in her courthouse. The Milwaukee judge pleaded not guilty in the case set for trial on July 21.

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Lawyers for Dugan are setting up the case to become an early test of the immunity standards the Supreme Court established with its 2024 decision, Trump v. United States, which established “presumptive immunity” for the president’s official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts.

In the memorandum filed Thursday, Dugan’s lawyers argued that a longstanding judicial immunity precedent would have barred her from being prosecuted for these actions dating back to when the U.S. was a British colony, and still does under current law.

“Dismissal here flows from a straightforward application of long-settled law. The indictment itself is an ugly innovation. Its dismissal will not be,” the memorandum said.

Dugan’s lawyers went through various cases to claim judicial immunity, invoking the 2024 Trump decision to argue that only actions well outside a judge’s duties, such as bribery or tax evasion, can be prosecuted.

“In short, only conduct plainly well outside the scope of a judge’s job and official acts has no immunity at all,” the memorandum said.

In arguing what conduct qualifies as an official act for a judge, Dugan’s lawyers assert the Trump decision suggested that judicial immunity, like presidential immunity, is broad.

“A judge’s official function and acts in turn are broad. They only begin in the courtroom itself,” Dugan’s lawyers said in the filing.

The lawyers asserted sweeping claims about the scope of Dugan’s alleged immunity, arguing that a judge may dictate matters outside of the courtroom that may affect proceedings in the courtroom. Examples given in the memorandum included controlling who may enter a courthouse and where witnesses or juries are sequestered.

“In sum, nothing in this indictment sounds a claim of anything like the unofficial acts and extrajudicial self-dealing that have sent state judges to face trial on federal criminal charges,” the filing said.

Dugan is accused of misdirecting federal immigration officials who arrived at the courthouse in April while allowing the illegal immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, and his lawyer to exit her courtroom via a back door used for juries. Flores-Ruiz was arrested shortly after he left the courthouse, and Dugan was arrested by federal authorities roughly a week after the incident.

The U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin set Friday as the deadline for motions, with responses due by June 9, and a pretrial conference slated for July 9. The Justice Department has yet to respond to Dugan’s motion to dismiss the case on immunity claims in court.

The filing comes nearly a week after Milwaukee County released video through a public records request from inside the county court of the day Dugan allegedly obstructed the arrest of the illegal immigrant.

Surveillance camera footage throughout the courthouse shows Dugan and fellow Milwaukee County Judge Kristela Cervera walking up to a pair of plainclothes federal immigration officers, talking to them, then directing them to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office.

In the released video, Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer leave through the back door of Dugan’s courtroom. A federal agent is seen following the two after they enter a courthouse hallway, and outside the building, a foot chase begins before Flores-Ruiz is arrested.

MILWAUKEE JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN OBSTRUCTION CASE

Dugan’s arrest a week after the incident was publicized by FBI Director Kash Patel, who posted a photo of the embattled judge being arrested with the message: “No one is above the law.”

Shortly after Dugan was arrested last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court temporarily suspended her from her duties for the Milwaukee County Circuit.