Latest news with #federalprosecution
CBS News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Federal judge recommends case continue against Hannah Dugan
Washington — A federal magistrate judge said Monday that the Justice Department's criminal case against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan should move forward and recommended that her bid to dismiss the indictment be denied. Dugan was arrested in April and charged with two federal counts after she was accused of helping a man who is in the U.S. illegally evade federal immigration authorities during a law enforcement operation at her courthouse in Milwaukee. She pleaded not guilty to one count of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor, and one count of obstruction, a felony. Dugan has argued that the case against her should be dismissed on the grounds that she was acting within the scope of her official duties as a state court judge and is therefore entitled to judicial immunity. She also said that the federal prosecution violates Wisconsin's sovereignty by interfering with the duties of an elected state judge and disrupting active proceedings. In a filing seeking to dismiss the indictment, Dugan's lawyers called the government's prosecution "virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional." But federal prosecutors said the charges should not be dropped and urged a federal judge to deny Dugan's bid to dismiss the case. They said Dugan's request for a dismissal is "unprecedented" and would ignore "well-established law that has long permitted judges to be prosecuted for crimes they commit." "Such a ruling would give state court judges carte blanche to interfere with valid law enforcement actions by federal agents in public hallways of a courthouse, and perhaps even beyond," they wrote in a filing last month. "Dugan's desired ruling would, in essence, say that judges are 'above the law,' and uniquely entitled to interfere with federal law enforcement." In a report filed Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph recommended that Dugan's attempt to dismiss the charges should be rejected. "It is well-established and undisputed that judges have absolute immunity from civil lawsuits for monetary damages when engaging in judicial acts," she wrote in a 37-page filing. "This, however, is not a civil case. And review of the case law does not show an extension of this established doctrine to the criminal context." Joseph stressed, however, that her recommendations, which are non-binding, do not speak to the merits of the allegations against Dugan, who is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman was set to begin July 21, but has been delayed. In arguing that she should be shielded from federal prosecution, Dugan cited the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in a case involving President Trump and the 2020 presidential election. The high court found that the president is immune from prosecution for official acts taken while in office. But Joseph wrote she is "unconvinced" that common law or the Supreme Court's decision in Mr. Trump's case "provide the authority for applying the civil framework of absolute judicial immunity for judicial acts to the prosecution of judges for crimes that relate to official duties." The magistrate judge concluded that judicial immunity does not shield Dugan from prosecution for allegedly violating criminal laws while performing her official judicial duties. "There is no firmly established absolute judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution of judges for judicial acts," Joseph said. Adelman will have the final word on whether to grant Dugan's request to dismiss the indictment. Federal prosecutors and Dugan's lawyers are set to appear before the judge Wednesday to discuss the status of the case and address additional scheduling matters.
Washington Post
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Meet Rep. LaMonica McIver, the Democrat being prosecuted over encounter outside NJ immigration jail
NEWARK, N.J. — U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges she assaulted officials during an oversight visit to an immigration detention center in May. It's a rare federal prosecution against a current member of Congress on charges other than corruption or fraud. Outside court, the congresswoman was defiant, saying the charges won't stop her from doing her job.
Forbes
04-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Trump Budget Drops Protections For State Medical Cannabis Programs
The White House budget request for 2026 omits language that has protected state-regulated medical ... More cannabis operators from federal prosecution for more than decade. The Trump administration's budget request for the 2026 fiscal year drops provisions that have protected state medical cannabis programs for more than a decade, online cannabis news outlet Marijuana Moment reported on Monday. The budget provision has blocked federal law enforcement agencies from spending resources to investigate or prosecute businesses operating in compliance with state-authorized medical cannabis programs, despite the continued prohibition of marijuana under federal law. 'This provision, which has been in place since 2014, protects patients, caregivers, and medical cannabis providers in the 39 states that have legalized medical access from federal interference or criminal prosecution,' the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) wrote in a statement. 'Prior to the passage of this protection, federal prosecutors routinely took actions against patients and dispensaries in legal states.' The budget restriction was first adopted by Congress in 2014 and has been included in the federal budget every year since. But the Trump administration's budget request for the 2026 fiscal year released last week does not include the language. Similarly, the budget requests for each of the four years of President Donald Trump's first term omitted the protections for state-regulated medical cannabis operators. The administration of President Barack Obama also left the language prohibiting federal interference with regulated medical marijuana businesses out its budget requests following the initial adoption of the provisions. By contrast, the administration budget requests for all fours years of Joseph Biden's presidency included the protections for state-legal medical marijuana businesses. While the budget request illustrates the Trump administration's spending policies and priorities, Congress has the constitutional responsibility and authority for appropriations legislation. The congressional budget has included the language every year since 2014, despite attempts by both Democratic and Republican administrations to drop the provision. 'Today, more than half the country, including 36 states and Washington, D.C., have embraced medical marijuana, and for the past 10 years, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment has prevented the Department of Justice from using federal funds to stop states from implementing their medical marijuana programs,' Laura A. Bianchi, co-founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Bianchi and Brandt, writes in an email. 'Rolling back these protections would mark a significant setback for marijuana reform. Ultimately, Congress will have the final say, and the industry remains hopeful that they will uphold these vital safeguards.' When Trump signed previous appropriations bill including the protections for medical cannabis operators after requesting they be removed, his administration issued a statement that it 'will treat this provision consistent with the President's constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.' The statement, which was issued on three separate occasions, was widely interpreted to suggest that the Trump administration might ignore the budget restriction. The omission of the protections for state-legal medical cannabis programs in the Trump administration's 2026 budget request is likely to disappoint supporters of cannabis policy reform who were encouraged by the president's apparent support for decriminalizing marijuana during the 2024 election campaign. In September, Trump suggested he supported reclassifying marijuana under federal drug laws and that he would back state efforts to legalize recreational cannabis. 'As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to a report from Marijuana Moment.
