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Notes -
The FBI this morning arrested a Wisconsin state judge on charges of concealing an illegal alien from arrest.
The initial criminal complaint is here. For those of you who prefer to watch TV instead of read, here is attorney general Pam Bondi giving the details on Fox News. The accusation is that upon seeing federal agents waiting outside her courtroom to serve an administrative warrent for the arrest of Eduardo Flores-Ruiz (who is an illegal alien currently being charged with battery), Judge Hannah Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through the jury door so that he could evade arrest.
For all of the "Kash Patel Arrests Judge" headlines I saw this morning, this seems totally fine? It looks like an open and shut case if the facts alleged in the complaint are true. It sounds like there ought to be plenty of witnesses (it literally took place in a courthouse). State-law judges don't have jurisdiction over federal agents executing federal functions. An illegal alien in court for an unrelated violent crime is an incredibly unsympathetic defendant. All of the smarter left-leaning commentators I follow seem to be keeping quiet on this, which seems smart.
Well, that certainly won't help in the broader judiciary-versus-executive political fight over deportation processes.
In the short span of time since I've heard this case, I've been trying to digest how exactly this fits in, and it's just so remarkably brazen that I can barely articulate it. I already thought that the more immigration-sympathetic judges played fast and loose with the rule of law, but it's on a completely different level to personally aid and abet the attempted escape of an illegal alien. When it's a legal proceeding with a decision I don't like, there's at least some pretense that we disagree about the law. This doesn't even have that fig leaf.
Suppose you're a judge, and you issue a warrant to arrest a murder suspect. Before the police can execute the warrant, he is detained by ICE and set for deportation. Would you consider this a satisfactory outcome?
Whether I consider it satisfactory or not is hardly the point. There are many legal outcomes that I don't consider satisfactory, none of which I think I can remedy by electing to personally override the federal government's actions.
Maybe the judge thought that was better than ICE personally aiding and abetting the escape of a wife beater.
Given how often domestic violence charges result in a metaphorical slap on the wrist, I don't think this really passes the sniff test. Theoretically, these charges could hit a little over two years imprisonment, but in practice the Milwaukee system gives 'nonviolent' domestic abusers (a category that looks to include these charges, because why would words mean things?) a median sentence of 50 days, and a third of those sentenced walk.
So I'm pretty skeptical at the first glance.
At a deeper level, I would be absolutely fascinated by a principle where state judges are allowed to determine what actions of federal law Act In The Interest Of Justice, but I think that's pretty settled.
The part you're forgetting is that doing the 50 days doesn't mean he gets to stay. It's not a choice between 50 days in jail or get deported, it's do the 50 days in jail and then get deported.
After the past head of Catholic Charities shoes him out the back door?
Again, doesn’t pass the sniff test.
EDIT: to be more clear: Dugan had the choice of maybe 50 days in jail, or getting deported, and took this action, which made either less likely. Literally while the victim was waiting in her court.
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