Clinton-Appointed Judge Selected for Hannah Dugan’s Trial Has History of Liberal Bias
“The appointment of Judge Lynn Adelman to preside over the trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan is staggering. I previously wrote about Adelman’s injudicious and biased commentary. ” — Jonathan Turley
Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan on two counts stemming from an April incident where witnesses said she helped 30-year-old Mexico native Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant, evade an arrest from ICE that would have taken place outside of her courtroom.
As we’ve reported, Dugan allegedly steered Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of her courtroom, where Flores-Ruiz had been for a pre-trial hearing on three misdemeanor counts of battery, and through the jury doorway instead of the main courtroom door, where members of ICE were waiting outside for his hearing to conclude.
Per the FBI charging document, Dugan stands accused of two U.S. Code violations: “Obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States” and “Concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest.”
Dugan has pleaded not guilty. After her indictment, her attorneys filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that “she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts.”
In an update to this story, we’re learning more about the judge selected to preside over her upcoming trial:
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman has been selected to hear the case against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested after federal authorities say she tried to help an undocumented immigrant elude arrest.
Adelman’s selection came after a grand jury returned an indictment against Dugan on May 13. He was selected through a random computer-based process.
Talk about luck of the draw! Following indictment, the Dugan prosecution was randomly assigned to Judge Lynn Adelman. Judge Adelman, age 85, is the most liberal judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and maybe one of the more liberal judges in the US. https://t.co/LmMHqN9Amn
— Jeff Wagner (@jeffwagnerradio) May 13, 2025
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan has "randomly" drawn federal judge Lynn Adelman to oversee her trial. Adelman, 85, is not only living proof of the need for judicial term limits, he is also one of the most radically liberal judges on the federal bench.
— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) May 14, 2025
Federal Judge Lynn Adelman is a long-time liberal activist. I expect him to dismiss the case. If he does not, suspended Judge Hannah Dugan is in trouble. No one is above the law. https://t.co/Sgea2vbqOS
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) May 14, 2025
Adelman is a Clinton appointee, and one who has a history of liberal bias, according to George Washington Law School Professor Jonathan Turley:
The appointment of Judge Lynn Adelman to preside over the trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan is staggering. I previously wrote about Adelman’s injudicious and biased commentary. This should make for some interesting jury instructions.
In a March 2020 column, Turley detailed some of that commentary:
In a controversial law review article, District Court Judge Lynn Adelman denounced what he sees as raw ideological bias on the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Adelman makes a better case of bias against himself than he does Chief Justice John Roberts. He unloads on Roberts as, essentially, a dishonest partisan hack. He declares the pledge by Roberts to “call the balls and strikes” a “masterpiece of disingenuousness.” Adelman attacks the five conservative justices as that “hard right majority” that has now been “actively participating in undermining American democracy.”
Conversely, the voting bloc of four liberal justices on the Supreme Court appears to be a masterpiece of righteousness to Adelman. He just cannot accept that the conservative majority holds opposing but principled views on issues ranging from immigration to campaign finance to voting rights. Instead, Adelman accuses the conservative majority of diminishing the rights of “ordinary Americans” while responding “only to the wishes of a relatively small number of powerful corporations and individuals.”
“In 2017, he authored a law review article that excoriated Republican legislators and at the time Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for conservative efforts ‘to undo’ the standing ‘commitment to transparency’ in the state and other political controversies,” Turley also noted.
The message for the public could not be worse this week. In a case involving a Democratic judge accused of discarding basic judicial principles, a random selection produced a Democratic judge reversed for discarding basic judicial principles… https://t.co/J5BAbbmRhf
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 21, 2025
In a Twitter/X thread, Turley shared more information about Adelman that is very concerning:
Judge Adelman attacked Chief Justice Roberts as lying in his confirmation hearing and described Trump as “an autocrat” who is “disinclined to buck the wealthy individuals and corporations who control his party.”
He was previously reversed and rebuked in a voter ID case after largely ignoring controlling precedent. For many conservatives, they may see little difference between the two judges in the case in terms of their demeanor and detachment.
Judge Alderman’s public commentary is another example of how extrajudicial statements undermine the judiciary. This history should not be added to a controversial case and [raises] questions over the objectivity and neutrality of the court.
Prior to his 1997 judicial appointment, Adelman, a Democrat, served in the Wisconsin State Senate for 20 years. He also unsuccessfully tried to run for Congress three times in the 1970s and 80s.
So… it’s looking like Dugan might be let off the hook because Adelman has a strong case of Trump Derangement Syndrome:
So Judge Dugan is going to walk on the charges b/c Orange Man Bad https://t.co/JqFJmHMkSH
— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) May 21, 2025
The pre-trial date is July 9th. Assuming it gets that far, the trial is set to start on July 21st. As always, stay tuned.
-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-
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Comments
The fix is in and nothing much of consequence will happen to Dugan. Adelman will make sure she only gets a slap-on-the-wrist punishment with no prison time or fine and that will be the end of the matter. That is all.
It seems that the brainwashing of the judiciary has borne fruit for liberals. Encourage lawless entry into the country while demanding flawless judicial process to kick them out. They let invaders in and lock the door from the outside, swallowing the key.
What political or legal solution do you suggest to lawlessness from the law?
difficult to remain objective–the progressives are not interested in a solution they seek rather a result–if not stopped/prevented from all their in-your-face disregard / deliberate / destructive antics, that result could very well be the end of our tenuous “social contract”
The additional bad news is Harris won Milwaukee county with 68.3% of the vote. The good (or at least better) news is that Milwaukee County is the only county in the the Eastern District of WI (the District Court where this judge is located and the trial will be held) that Harris won. Trump won all other counties in this District, some by a sizeable margin. That means the jury pool should, in theory, be FAR more ideologically balanced than if this were a municipal criminal trial in Milwaukee. Of course, she only needs one holdout to keep her out of prison.
Or he tosses the case pretrial by accepting her argument that she was acting under Judicial immunity. Not out of the realm of possibility.
Yes, that’s very possible. Fortunately, at least the Government could appeal that decision…which they would likely win, eventually. Their biggest problem is he just puts his thumb on the case in ways that leave even an earnest jury no choice but to acquit, and that would then not be appealable.
Very true and doing that would be a worse outcome.. Wasn’t nitpicking but rather pointing out the real possibility this loony lefty may just toss it b/c he can. He’s that much of a partisan ideologue. The Senate has got to do better job of objecting to these sorts of folks getting a clean nomination. A minority can’t stop it but they can make it a drawn out painful process. Use a speaking filibuster if necessary to draw attention.
Immunity is not a defense against breaking the law as what she was doing had nothing to do with the proceedings in the courtroom. She adjourned the court and acted illegally so was not in an official capacity at the time.
I agree with you but this ideological, partisan Judge hearing the argument may very well not. He is entirely capable of ruling that she was running her CT room and thus immune. We don’t buy that BS but we ain’t making the call, he is.
Because of course. 🙄
Help Wanted: Liberal Judge to Enjoin Trump!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-22/harvard-blocked-by-government-from-enrolling-foreign-students?srnd=homepage-americas
“Randomly” assigned, my ass.
When the bench is filled with Liberal biased players or judges, the odds of randomly selecting a liberal biased judge is high. The main problem is Liberal bias is so concrete and accepted that the SCOTUS left wing solidly reigns supreme so often. While the conservative majority is split so many ways. This is also the case in Congress. Even with a GOP majority, they can’t advance against the liberals.
Article says the one selected is the most liberal of them all. There are no coincidences. Just like long, drawn-out ballot counts overwhelmingly favoring Democrats by the slimmest margins aren’t either.
1) Given that almost all elected and appointed officials, despite anything they swear to, functionally act as if they are not limited by the law, the Constitution, or their word to citizens of the United States; [It takes far less than a majority of lawbreakers to make it rational to assume that the law will be broken and that the Social Contract cannot be depended upon.]
2) Given that judges claim and use the power to re-write, cancel, or add to the law at will, and given the source of judges;
3) Given that of the population of the United States, there are certain “protected classes” that despite being part of the commoner class are above and outside the law and Constitution intermittently;
4) What is the functional basis for the mass of Americans to assume the legitimacy of what the government does?
Serious question.
Subotai Bahadur
I’ll be content if Duggan us at least thrown off the bench, Not happy but content.
Given the makeup of the WI state legislature and the State Supreme Court (not sure how judges are removed in WI, could be by the legislature or Supreme Court or combo of both), the chances she loses her judgeship without being convicted are just about zero. They have to convict her or she’ll walk away unscathed.
If that happens and I’m ICE I put a “target on her back” to wait for her to slip up again. You know she will and then pow, right back to trial. It won’t be double jeopardy either. New incident means new charges and a chance at a different judge.
its all up to the jurors
probably get a hung jury
this lefty pos will continue to rule over her queendumb
unless we get some justice there…that would be sweet she needs to spend 3 months in jail
and lose her position of power
Justice Roberts is the best hidden Right winger ideolog ever.
The administrative state takes care of its own. You can’t vote your way out.
Oh, I’m sure it was just random. 100%.
How and why did we allow our Federal Judiciary, our 3 letter law enforcement agencies, our media establishments, our tech industry, our medical hierarchy and our whole educational system to be so thoroughly contaminated? Undoing this is going to take far longer than 4 years, and the steely resolve of an entire generation. Provided that they can pry themselves away from their TikTok and YouTube, of course.
Something about the “random selection” comes across as a lie.
Like the lie Dominion voting machines are hack proof.
Silicon Valley is full of TDS leftists