Massachusetts Judge Shelley Joseph Publicly Reprimanded for ICE Escape

Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court publicly reprimanded Judge Shelley Joseph on Thursday for her actions in a 2018 case. The ruling states she engaged in willful judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute. This decision ends a legal saga that began on April 2, 2018, when Jose Medina-Perez left the courthouse. The court found she instructed a clerk to turn off the audio recording system during a critical sidebar.

The high court ruled that Joseph did not know the attorney planned to help the immigrant escape custody. Fox News reported the ruling centered on a conversation where Joseph proposed detaining the man overnight. She then told her clerk to shut off the courtroom recording system. The commission concluded this conduct was prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Judge Joseph's attorney, Elizabeth Mulvey, argued the case had been distorted in the media over time. Mulvey said in a statement that people believed her client "let an illegal immigrant out of the door." She claimed the public thought she had escorted the defendant to the door and wished him Godspeed. Mulvey also called the last eight years an "incredibly long and difficult eight years for Judge Joseph."

The New York Post noted that the hearing officer recommended the reprimand after a lengthy investigation. Mulvey stated they are grateful the efforts showed the federal prosecution was baseless. She said Judge Joseph looks forward to rejoining her colleagues. The court officer who let the man out through the back door was also indicted in 2019. That case was dropped in 2022 after Joseph referred herself to the conduct commission.

The court found Joseph neither explicitly nor implicitly approved of the plan to release the man. Medina-Perez was facing a fugitive charge from Pennsylvania and drug charges in Massachusetts. Joseph released him on his own recognizance after finding no evidence for the Pennsylvania warrant. The Supreme Judicial Court said her statements created an appearance of impropriety.

This situation mirrors a case in Wisconsin where a judge helped a man evade immigration authorities. The Massachusetts ruling closes a chapter that started when the man walked out a rear exit. Joseph was suspended from the bench for three years following her federal indictment. The commission found her actions were unbecoming a judicial officer. The court's decision stands as the final word on this specific conduct.