Overview
- A federal judge is hearing oral arguments on a defense motion to reconsider Hannah Dugan’s December felony obstruction conviction and has paused sentencing while the court weighs the motion.
- Dugan was convicted for letting a man wanted by ICE leave her courtroom through a side door after she directed agents away from the proceeding and escorted him out, and she resigned after her arrest.
- Defense lawyers say an April ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals undercut a key precedent the government used by narrowing what counts as a “pending proceeding” under the federal obstruction law.
- Prosecutors argued the Virginia appellate decision differs from Dugan’s case and urged the court to uphold the jury verdict, while the judge questioned both sides about how long a federal “proceeding” lasts under the statute.
- If the judge finds the new appellate ruling dispositive the court could vacate the conviction or order a retrial, outcomes that would reshape appeal strategy and could affect how courts review similar immigration-enforcement prosecutions.