Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan's trial set to begin in mid-December

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The federal trial of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan has now been set for December. Dugan's trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 15, with a two-day jury selection happening one week earlier, on Dec. 11-12.

Both the prosecution and defense agreed to the dates during a scheduling hearing Wednesday. 

Dugan's defense team is not appealing a recent decision that denied their motion to dismiss the charges against Dugan. The Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge is accused of helping an undocumented migrant avoid ICE agents trying to pick him up after a hearing in her courtroom last April.

Recently released bodycam video from an interaction Dugan had with Milwaukee police showed her maintain she did nothing wrong. Speaking with reporters after the hearing Wednesday, Dugan's lawyers said she is right, and that's why they're ready to move forward. 

"We're ready for trial," Dugan's attorney, Jason Luczak, said. "Judge Dugan did nothing wrong, and appealing this decision would just add months, years to the process. We've been preparing for trial for months. We're ready to try the case. Judge Dugan is ready to try the case. She wants her day in court."

While Dugan's attorneys declined to appeal the denial of their push to dismiss the case, the defense team will still be able to argue at trial Dugan enjoys the same immunity President Donald Trump does, going back to a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

"I think it's really important," Luczak said. "Because I think that, especially using the Trump decision that recognized executive immunity, we want that issue to still be out there, but we're not appealing the case right now because we do not want to add years to this case."

Both the defense and prosecution said they expect jury selection to be challenging. There are questions about just how deep they should go in weeding out possible jurors.

One area of disagreement is whether people in the jury pool should be asked about their political beliefs. Dugan's defense team indicated they want to go so far as see what types of stickers are on prospective jurors' water bottles.

"[Prosecutors] don't want us asking about political beliefs," Luczak said. "Which- how could you not ask about political beliefs in a case like this, that is so politically charged?"

A final pre-trial conference will happen the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 26. Luczak said he expects Dugan to appear then. The defense team said they did not yet know whether Dugan will take the stand in her own defense.

"That's a decision every defendant has to make in a case," Luczak said. "And it's something that I can't say one way or the other right now."