Judge Hannah Dugan trial: On the eve of jury selection, a look ahead at the local case's national implications
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan's highly anticipated federal trial begins Thursday, Dec. 11, in downtown Milwaukee.
Dugan is charged with helping an undocumented immigrant evade federal ice agents who were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest him.
Jury selection will take place Thursday and Friday. The trial will begin Monday, Dec. 15.
To start, we can expect a lot of attention: this case has been closely watched by the national media and the trump administration.
The incident in question lasted less than 10 minutes, but what’s decided at this trial could have a lasting impact on every judge across the country.
Justin Padway, attorney at Padway & Padway, told us, "This has massive ramifications across the country. I'm sure there are many, many judges all across the nation who are watching this case."
It all begins Thursday, when potential jurors from all across the eastern district of Wisconsin will gather at the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.
It was April 18 when Eduardo Flores Ruiz was scheduled to appear in judge Hannah Dugan's courtroom.
When a courthouse staffer told Dugan federal agents were waiting in the hallway, she went out to confront them.
Dugan and her legal team insists she did not violate the law when she ordered the ice agents to speak with the chief judge and then directed Flores Ruiz out of her courtroom.
She was arrested by FBI agents a week later.
When the trial begins Monday, the selected jury will watch and listen to what Judge Dugan did on April 18.
Security video from the hallway and an audio recording from inside the courtroom will be key pieces of evidence.
The jury will eventually decide if Dugan is guilty of obstructing or impeding a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent arrest.
Padway said, "I think what you see here is, ultimately, a litmus test here on what is allowed and what is not allowed at a courthouse."
Judge Lynn Adelman will oversee the case.
He was nominated in 1997 by President Clinton and received praise from Republican then-Governor Tommy Thompson.
Prior to serving on the bench, Adelman served 20 years as a democratic state senator from Milwaukee.
Several attorneys will try the case.
"This is an all-out, heavyweight battle," Padway said.
On the prosecution's side: Assistant US Attorneys Keith Alexander and Kelly Brown Watzka will lead the government's case.
Dugan's defense team is led by former US Attorney Steven Biskupic, who was appointed by President George W. Bush. With more than 35 years legal experience, Biskupic specializes in state and federal white collar investigations.
Paul Clement served as Solicitor General of the United States, also under George W. Bush. At one point, the conservative had argued the most cases in front of the US Supreme Court.
And Nicole Masnica and Jason Luczak specialize in criminal and white-collar defense.
The two sides have been very active ahead of the trial, filing several motions over evidence, witnesses, even individual words and definitions.
But Judge Adelman has yet to rule on many of the motions, and uniform jury instructions are still undecided: what will the jury be asked to deliberate?
Padway said, "I think the goal here is for the attorneys to be able to simplify this case as much as possible and get the jurors to focus on what they want them to focus on within those jury instructions."
He added, "Did she actually intend to disrupt any proceeding and or conceal any defendant in this case? They want to simplify it as much as possible for the jury."
The federal trial will look very different than local trials. There will be no video or audio recording of the trial, but the jury will see and hear plenty.
Security video will show Dugan’s interactions with the ICE agents and an audio recording taken inside her courtroom will be played.
Pre-trial court filings show Dugan’s team will argue she was following the orders of Chief Judge Carl Ashley to direct agents to speak with her superiors.
Padway said of that defense, "I think it can hold up in this specific case. I think jurors, ultimately, want to appreciate the person behind the action they take." He added, "And I think if you combine that with the fact that she asked, 'Do you have a judicial warrant?' to these ICE agents, certainly it goes to her understanding of what the law is."
Ashley and Flores Ruiz could be among the 25-28 witnesses the government anticipates.
The trial is expected to last a week. And the impact from a conviction could last far into the future.
Padway said, "If you have a conviction here, you might have judges that are afraid to exercise their authority in the court system. You might have defendants that are afraid to come to the court proceedings. You may have victims of crimes that are afraid to show up if they don't have the proper immigration status."
We'll be in the courtroom every day of the trial, starting Thursday with jury selection. Our coverage will begin at noon.
And attorney Justin Padway will be with us each day to help analyze a very complicated and consequential case.