Indicted Judge’s Case Pushes Immunity and Federal Power Limits
May 22, 2025 | Jacqueline Thomsen, Reporter | Alex Ebert, Senior Correspondent
The rare prosecution of a sitting judge is teeing up a legal fight over her immunity from criminal charges, and whether the same protections President Donald Trump claimed might apply to judges.
Judges have expansive immunity from civil lawsuits over their official acts in court, but have been successfully prosecuted when their conduct crosses criminal lines.
Now Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan is relying on this theory—and the US Supreme Court’s recent expansion of criminal immunity for Trump—to argue that, like the president, judges can’t be prosecuted for actions they take in their courtrooms. … READ MORE