Posted on 04/26/2025 9:40:50 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
“This is not normal.” Those words from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are undeniably true after the arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan. However, the reason it is not normal is far more debatable. Dugan is accused of becoming a lawbreaker in seeking to obstruct an effort to arrest a man wanted by federal authorities. If true, that is manifestly not “normal.”
As soon as the news of the arrest was reported, Democrats declared another constitutional crisis. Klobuchar added that the arrest “is a drastic move threatening the rule of law” and a “grave step and undermines our system of checks and balances.”
That is a curious claim unless Klobuchar believes that the officers are lying. If not, Klobuchar is suggesting that a judge should be allowed (or at least not held accountable) for actively shielding a wanted person and facilitating their evasion of law enforcement.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., also condemned Dugan’s arrest, stating, “If [FBI Director] Kash Patel and Donald Trump don’t like a judge, they think they can arrest them. This is stunning — we must stand up to this blatant power grab. Republicans: How is this not a red line for you?”
Yet, what is the “red line” for judges if the allegations are true? This judge is accused of conduct that has resulted in charges for other citizens. The judicial robe is not some form of invisibility cloak that allows judges to engage in alleged criminal acts.
The Wisconsin media is reporting:
Sources have told the Journal Sentinel that ICE officials arrived in Dugan’s courtroom on the morning of April 18. When they went to the chief judge’s office, Dugan directed the defendant and his attorney to a side door in the courtroom, directed them down a private hallway and into the public area on the 6th floor.
If true, that would be an active effort to help the suspect elude police who were carrying out a lawful function.
According to the criminal complaint, Flores-Ruiz allegedly attacked three individuals after an altercation with his roommate about playing loud music. Flores-Ruiz allegedly struck his roommate approximately 30 times with a closed fist and then attacked his girlfriend and a third person. Some of the injuries required hospital treatment.
The evasion of police at the courthouse required officers to chase down Ruiz, which could have resulted in a more serious confrontation on the street.
This is not the first time that a judge has been accused of participating in or directing such obstruction.
I previously wrote about the case of Massachusetts judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph who was charged with allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade ICE agents in April 2018. Joseph and court officer Wesley MacGregor were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting and obstruction of a federal proceeding.
I was critical of the handling of the case. While Joseph was suspended for three years, charges were dropped in 2022 during the Biden Administration.
The Dugan case occurred at the same time that a New Mexico judge was arrested for harboring an unlawful immigrant and an alleged TdA gang member.
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife were arrested on Thursday. Notably, Cano reportedly admitted to officers that he smashed the phone of Cristhian Ortega-Lopez after the 23-year-old was arrested in a raid at the judge’s home.
As I said on Fox last night, I am perplexed by Democrats rushing to denounce the arrest of Dugan before we know whether these allegations are supported. If she escorted the suspect to a non-public door to facilitate his escape, that is conduct and would constitute a shocking abandonment of judicial ethics. She can certainly use her authority to address matters properly before her in the form of judicial orders, but actively assisting in an escape is well beyond the pale.
I have often criticized the reckless rhetoric directed against judges, including those who have ruled against the Trump Administration. We need to maintain our civility and respect as we work through these often difficult questions.
However, that works both ways. Judges have to reinforce respect for the judiciary in their own conduct. That includes showing restraint and respect in relation to the countervailing powers of the Executive Branch. It certainly includes avoiding actions that could be viewed as criminal or unethical in resisting this Administration.
That is also a “red line.”
* * *
Jonathan Turley is the author of best-selling book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
* * *
Well, it should be.
Remember, no one is above the law.
Well done!
This is not normal
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whaaaat ?
i thought the left hated NORMIES .
This it totally normal — at least so far as the MSM would define normal. Activist judges, those not strict constitutionalists (sp?), always seek ways to break the law.
No, because they are Democrats.
P
We need to keep arresting them until the rest get it!
From lowlife gangbangers to cartel members to 'white liberal elites' on the take, to judges' who think they are above the law - the democrat party is supported and run by criminals.
If 11 million illegals are given full ‘due process’ to be deported - it’ll take over 200 years to get them out... (well, if they could live that long)
Supported and run by traitors now, really!
Oh, AND the Wisconsin Judge was Hitler.
And with the 40 to 50 million that are actually here, just imagine how long that would take.
Turley, matt drudge & even chris Matthews were all truth seekers back during the days of VWF, ron brown & the clintonista regime
Seems like they’ve all sold out now
AIDING//ABETTING /HARBORING A FUGITIVE.
RE: Turley, matt drudge & even chris Matthews were all truth seekers back during the days of VWF, ron brown & the clintonista regime
Seems like they’ve all sold out now
__________________________
Exactly what did Turley “sell out” in this post of his?
What is “VWF”???
Gobblature thinks nullification of federal law is not a Constitutional crisis.
I wonder how she will handle a federal gun barrel up her large nose.
Did anyone recognize the similarity of this story with the second episode of the defunct CBS TV drama All Rise from 2019?
In the second episode titled Long Day's Journey into ICE, an ICE agent enters the courtroom of series leading character Judge Lola Carmichael's courtroom (played by actress Simone Missick) to apprehend an illegal alien defendant. Judge Carmichael helps the defendant to escape from the ICE agent by guiding him out of a back door of the courtroom.
-PJ
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