A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that she helped a man who is in the country illegally evade US immigration authorities looking to arrest him in her courtroom.
The Milwaukee county circuit judge Hannah Dugan entered the plea during an arraignment in federal court, an early step in the criminal justice process. Defendants routinely plead not guilty at this point to give their attorneys time to investigate and to preserve their right to a trial.
Dugan is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back jury door on 18 April after learning that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking his arrest for being in the country illegally.
She could face up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts.
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