A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw |
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A federal judge ruled that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan cannot claim immunity from criminal charges accusing her of helping a migrant evade an immigration arrest outside her courtroom. Here's what to know: |
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U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected Dugan’s claims that she could not be prosecuted over the incident because she was acting in her official capacity as a judge, likely setting the stage for a trial.
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In April, Dugan was charged with obstruction and concealing an individual wanted for arrest. Prosecutors allege she directed federal agents away from the hallway outside of her courtroom and escorted the migrant, who was facing domestic violence charges, through a non-public exit. She has pleaded not guilty. More on that here.
- The team at Mastantuono Coffee & Thomas, which includes conservative lawyer and SCOTUS advocate Paul Clement, is representing Dugan. Read more about Clement here.
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The case has drawn significant attention as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to carry out immigration arrests at courthouses and escalates confrontations with federal judges over rulings blocking parts of the Republican president’s agenda. Read more here.
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Dugan could seek to appeal the decision before a trial is held. Find out more.
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A Missouri state court will hear arguments over a ballot measure that would reinstate a total abortion ban in the state. The ACLU of Missouri argues that the ballot measure’s language is inaccurate and misleading. The state legislature approved the measure earlier this year and it is due to be on the ballot in November 2026. Read the petition.
- U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in D.C. will hold a motion hearing in a class action brought by five Black farmers accusing the USDA and the Farm Service Agency of engaging in discriminatory lending practices. Read the complaint.
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Journalist Mario Guevara will seek his immediate release during a hearing scheduled in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. In a habeas petition filed last week, Guevara challenged his continued detention by ICE based on his livestreaming and reporting activities.
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A federal court in El Paso will hear arguments in a lawsuit challenging Texas’s congressional map. The plaintiffs in the case are seeking to block the new Trump-backed map, which was passed last week, from taking effect.
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A virtual scheduling conference is set in Kilmar Abrego's habeas petition. Abrego, who was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador, was detained again by DHS in Baltimore on Monday and may be deported a second time to Uganda.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes. |
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Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, fighting President Trump's unprecedented effort to fire her from the central bank, tapped prominent Washington lawyer Abbe Lowell to represent her. Lowell, whose clientele includes Hunter Biden and New York Attorney General Letitia James, launched a new firm this year to represent officials targeted by the Republican president. Read more here.
- A former partner at law firm Jackson Walker whose secret romance with a U.S. bankruptcy judge ignited an ethics scandal is still dealing with the fallout, including defending her role as a court-appointed trustee in the wind-down of financial services company GWG.
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Moves: David Hoskins, former lead litigation counsel for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, moved to King & Spalding … Baker Botts added transactional partners Ron Aizen, from Paul Weiss, and Fritz Lark, from McDermott … Fox Rothschild added Evan Winet to its taxation and wealth planning department from Weintraub Tobin … Cross-border litigator Mitchell Kim joined Thompson Hine from Buchalter … Clark Hill added immigration partners Lisa Atkins and Christina Gonzaga from Tafapolsky & Smith … Louisa Lynch moved to Greenberg Traurig to co-chair its Middle East and European hospitality practice from Pinsent Masons.
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That's how many times federal prosecutors failed to persuade a grand jury to indict Sydney Reid, a woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent during an immigration operation in D.C. last month, a highly unusual failure as the Trump administration seeks to aggressively charge street crime in the nation's capital. It is rare for a grand jury to reject a request for an indictment, given that the legal standard is lower than to secure a conviction at trial. Read more.
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"[T]o hold otherwise would run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law."
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—U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, throwing out |
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