Among the high-profile figures who’ve captured headlines is Shelley Joseph, a former Massachusetts state District Court Judge. Her involvement in a controversial DACA-related case harkens back to immigration battles in 2018 under the Trump administration. Joseph and a court officer were charged each with felony assault—sarcastic emoji here. They were framed for allegedly assisting an undocumented migrant evade detention by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer at the Newton District Court.
In 2018, Joseph was accused of helping a migrant escape through a door behind the counter. This occurred literally on the cusp of ICE’s plans to detain the migrant. This misstep had disastrous consequences for Joseph’s judicial career. In a rare move, the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct referred Joseph for formal charges. This is highly unusual, having only happened five times since 2000.
The commission went further, filing disciplinary charges against her with the state’s highest court. This action was not only the passed reorganization in the middle of the disciplinary process. Federal prosecutors a short time later indicted Joseph on two felony counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. She pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
Joseph’s defense attorney, Thomas Hoopes, accused then-U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling of prosecutorial misconduct based on Lelling’s political bias against the prosecution. To illustrate the bias, Hoopes pointed out this op-ed authored by Lelling himself. He claimed it was an example of an obvious failure to be neutral. In addition, Hoopes alleged that Lelling has leaked sensitive information to the press, conduct he found unacceptable.
State AG Maura Healey made news by going on record against the case. She characterized the charges against Joseph as “a radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of our courts.”
Yet, as the case continued, federal prosecutors dismissed all charges against Joseph in 2022. A black man, who was arrested on narcotics charges, sparked the legal battle. After all, he too had been deported from the United States on two previous occasions.
Joseph made the difficult decision to turn himself in to police. This is a huge difference from Hannah Dugan, the Wisconsin judge recently charged with three felonies for obstruction and concealing a person from arrest.
This case is a microcosm of the larger fight playing out in judicial circles across the country around immigration enforcement and judicial independence. More importantly, it brings attention to the dilemmas judges deal with when confronted with legal and moral quandaries in their courtrooms.
“Undermine our judiciary at every level, including flat-out disobeying the highest court in the land and threatening to impeach and remove judges who do not rule in their favor.” – Tony Evers
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