Prosecutors asked a federal judge to send Hannah Dugan to prison after her conviction for obstructing federal agents, while her defense said she should receive time served. The competing sentencing memos were filed on Wednesday before her July 8 hearing before District Judge Lynn Adelman.
The government said a prison term of 15 to 21 months would be reasonable under federal guidelines outlined in a pre-sentencing report. Prosecutors also said the conviction carries a maximum of five years in prison, and they argued for a sentence that reflects the serious nature of her conduct.
April 18, 2025
The felony conviction stems from April 18, 2025, when Dugan led a man through a side door of her Milwaukee County courtroom after federal agents arrived at the courthouse to arrest him for being in the country illegally. A jury found her guilty in December of impeding or obstructing an official proceeding.
For readers following the case, the July 8 hearing is where Adelman will decide whether the sentence stays near the lower end of the federal range or moves closer to the five-year maximum allowed by law. A separate account of the conviction has been laid out in Hannah Dugan Leaves Conviction Standing in Ice Misidentified Immigrant Case.
Hannah Dugan's defense
Dugan's attorneys said she has no criminal history and no possibility of repeating the offense. They also said Dugan was handcuffed and shackled during her arrest, photographed publicly by plan, and intentionally shamed from coast to coast by the leadership of the United States Department of Justice and FBI.
The defense said there is no need for further deterrence, either specifically or generally. Dugan's attorneys also wrote that she will speak during the sentencing hearing, after not taking the stand during her four-day trial in Milwaukee.
E. Michael McCann letter
The defense filed letters from her seven siblings and from E. Michael McCann. In his letter, McCann said Dugan had been profoundly influenced by her Catholic faith and wrote, "Some lawyers perform such work simply because it provides a living."
He also wrote, "I know Hannah Dugan and she was an attorney who assisted poor people because they were in need and required help. She was free of disdain for their often limited economic situations." Her public service included roles with the Legal Aid Society of Wisconsin, Catholic Charities of Milwaukee and the City of Milwaukee Ethics Board, and she served on the Wisconsin Judicial Commission from 2000 to 2006.
The hearing will now turn on how Adelman weighs those competing accounts of the case: prosecutors pressing for prison time, and the defense asking the court to stop at time served.
