MILWAUKEE (CN) - A federal judge took Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan's trial date off the calendar on Wednesday in anticipation of a lengthy battle over her motion to dismiss the felony charges against her.

Dugan, 66, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of obstruction and concealing an individual set for deportation. The FBI claims Dugan helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waiting outside her courtroom by leading him out a private side door.

Flores-Ruiz was apparently chased down and detained as he attempted to leave the courthouse according to one agent's affidavit. His marks at least the third ICE arrest in the Milwaukee County Courthouse this year.

Dugan pleaded not guilty to all charges in May.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a Bill Clinton appointee, took the July trial date off the calendar pending the conclusion of the defense team's motion to dismiss. Attorney Steven Biskupic, who previously served as the U.S. attorney for Wisconsin's Eastern District where this case is playing out and now represents Dugan, made it known that Dugan expects a speedy trial.

"My client wants a trial date, she wants to put this behind her," Biskupic said before being cut off by Adelman.

"Is she getting paid right now?" Adelman asked.

"Yes, she is getting paid," Biskupic said in response.

"Right, so I understand your client wants to get back to work but," Adelman said, shrugging.

In support of removing the trial date, Adelman forecasted a long and arduous road ahead as the due date for Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph's recommendation on Dugan's motion to dismiss draws nearer, speculating that there will be objections, appeals and briefs no matter which way he rules.

Dugan filed the motion to dismiss all charges against her before the judge had even entered a plea. Dugan says she is protected by judicial immunity from both conviction and prosecution. Her actions were within her duty as a judge to maintain control of her courtroom, she says.

The motion to dismiss has effectively halted trial proceedings and thwarted the defense's repeated attempts to bring the case to trial as soon as possible. If the motion is granted, the case will never see a jury and Dugan will be immune from prosecution for the events of April 18.  

Flores-Ruiz appeared in Dugan's courtroom on that day for a pre-trial conference related to multiple counts of battery and domestic abuse. He was sitting in the gallery when ICE agents arrived, according to the affidavit of FBI agent Lindsay Schloemer in support of Dugan's arrest.

The affidavit goes on to claim that Dugan sent the agents to speak to the chief judge before ushering Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a side "jury-door" and down a private staircase.

FBI agents arrested Dugan outside of the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 25 and transported her to the federal building in shackles, according to U.S. Marshals Service Spokesperson Brady McCarron.

There was just one week between the inciting incident and Dugan's public arrest, which drew national attention and substantial protests in support of independence in the judiciary.  

"It's unusual the speed with which they filed a complaint, I mean usually it takes weeks or months," Attorney Jason Luczak, who also represents Dugan, said after the hearing. "It really is an attack on the judiciary."

Luczak hinted during a press conference outside of the federal courthouse on Wednesday that trial evidence will show that Dugan did not lead Flores-Ruiz through a private door so that he could escape, saying "the case is very different from how the public thinks of it right now."

In the motion to dismiss, Biskupic also suggests that trial evidence will disprove some of the claims made in the complaint.

In a response to the motion, the government maintains that Dugan's acts were not "judicial acts" as defined by the law, and therefore are not protected by judicial immunity.

The government concedes that the law gives judges the general authority to control the courthouse - including by ordering the removal of certain parties to maintain control - but argues that Dugan went beyond control into illegal obstruction.

"The Supreme Court has never retreated for its determination that judicial immunity does not apply in criminal cases," the government wrote. "As such, whether something is a judicial act has never been the focus. Rather, the dividing line is whether the conduct fits the elements of a criminal statute."

Dugan's final pre-trial hearing has been converted into a status hearing to assess whether the parties will proceed to trial or appeal the motion ruling.

Source: Courthouse News Service