US federal judge leaves intact conviction of former Wisconsin jurist who aided immigration evasion

A federal judge in the United States has confirmed the conviction of Hannah Dugan, a former Wisconsin jurist found guilty of assisting a man in avoiding federal immigration officers who entered her courtroom.

US District Judge Lynn Adelman had earlier put off Dugan's sentencing while he reviewed attempts to have the verdict set aside. In a decision issued on Tuesday, he declined to reverse the conviction.

"The court's decision is wrong," Dugan's legal defence team said in a statement issued after the ruling.

Her arrest and prosecution brought into sharp focus the forceful stance of US President Donald Trump's administration toward officials the president regards as too lenient on immigration or as obstructing large-scale deportation efforts.

Dugan challenged immigration agents when they arrived at her court to detain Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented man scheduled for a hearing in a state battery case. She told the officers that the administrative warrant they held did not give them authority to arrest him.

She was found guilty of helping him slip away by escorting the undocumented man and his attorney through a private jury door.

Dugan served on the bench for nine years before stepping down amid impeachment threats from state Republicans. She was arrested inside the courthouse and taken away in handcuffs about a week later.

Republican officials have cast her as an activist judge who helped someone unlawfully in the country evade law enforcement.

The 67-year-old could face up to five years in prison following her conviction on December 19. She is likely to receive probation instead, given that she has no prior criminal record and was convicted of a nonviolent offence.

Dugan's attorneys maintained that the Trump administration singled her out because she defied the government on a central policy priority.

Earlier US administrations largely avoided immigration arrests at courthouses, worried that such actions might deter immigrants from using the legal system or reporting crimes.

The Trump administration has departed from that practice, and has also carried out immigration operations at other sensitive sites, including houses of worship.