Was judge Hannah Dugan sentenced to prison and for how long?
Executive summary
Judge Hannah Dugan has not been sentenced to prison; she was convicted by a federal jury of a felony obstruction charge on Dec. 18, 2025 and faces a statutory maximum of up to five years in prison on that count, but no sentencing date had been set as of the reporting and legal observers say actual imprisonment is unlikely in light of sentencing norms for first‑time, nonviolent offenders [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Guilty verdict, not a prison term yet
A federal jury found Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of felony obstruction in an incident involving federal agents seeking to arrest an undocumented immigrant, but the jury acquitted her on a related misdemeanor concealment count; reporters across outlets noted that while conviction exposes her to a maximum five‑year prison term, the court had not scheduled sentencing and she remained out of custody pending post‑verdict proceedings [2] [1] [3].
2. Statutory maximum versus likely outcome
Multiple news organizations emphasize the distinction between the statutory maximum and the probable sentence: Dugan technically faces up to five years behind bars under the obstruction charge, but sentencing guidelines and commentary from law professors and local reporters suggest that first‑time, nonviolent offenders, particularly those with public service records, typically receive little or no jail time — meaning a custodial sentence would be “virtually unheard of” in cases like this [1] [4] [5].
3. What must happen before any prison time is imposed
Before any sentence is imposed, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman must resolve defense motions — including a planned motion to set aside the verdict — and determine whether to order a pre‑sentence investigation and report; those steps were described as routine and the judge had not yet set a sentencing date as of the reports [3] [6] [7].
4. Politics, appeals and the broader stakes
Reporting underscores that Dugan’s conviction is both legally significant and politically combustible: prosecutors framed the case as abuse of judicial authority, while defenders called it government overreach and signaled immediate appeals; commentators and outlets also flagged potential consequences beyond imprisonment, such as likely ineligibility to continue in elected judicial office if the felony conviction stands, and Republican calls for impeachment — all factors that complicate any sentencing calculus [1] [4] [6].
5. Consensus and uncertainty in the record
Across news outlets — including the New York Times, AP, local Wisconsin outlets and national outlets — the factual record is consistent that Dugan was convicted, faces a possible five‑year maximum, and had no sentence imposed at the time of reporting; those same sources uniformly caution that a multi‑year term is unlikely under federal sentencing practice for a nonviolent, first‑time offender, but they also make clear that final outcomes depend on motions, the pre‑sentence process, and any appeal or judicial discretion [1] [2] [5] [8] [6].