Hearing for judge accused of helping man sought by ICE escape begins Monday

Half-a-decade after she was charged with several serious federal crimes a Massachusetts judge will completely have her day in court sort of In a affair bearing striking similarity to a more newest arrest of a judge from Wisconsin former Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph will appear for a Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct hearing on Monday over charges she willfully helped a man desired by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in evading federal agents A court assigned hearing officer will examine the courthouse scene of the alleged crime which ultimately led to a judicial complaint against the Bay State judge before the hearing gets underway over whether she violated the rules of conduct for jurists According to a Formal Charges document filed by the Commission the judge engaged in willful judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute as well as conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and unbecoming a judicial officer in when allegedly helped a man named Jose Medina-Perez avoid apprehension over a deportation order and subsequently when she failed to be fully honest with fellow judges assessing her conduct The commission alleges that during a hearing on an unrelated criminal matter the judge held an unrecorded conference with Medina-Perez s defense attorney and a prosecutor who had they had indicated no intention of holding him in state custody During this off-the-record sidebar the judge allegedly made inquiries which could give a reasonable observer the impression that she sought to assist defense counsel in identifying a means for the defendant to avoid ICE Defense counsel informed Judge Joseph that if she permitted him to return to the downstairs lockup area with the defendant and the interpreter he thought his client could be distributed through the rear sally-port exit of the courthouse the charging document alleges But according to a response offered by the judge no such permission was granted Instead she alleges the defense attorney in question misled federal prosecutors looking for someone to blame over the situation In her response to the commission s charges Joseph suggests that the defense attorney made an arrangement with court staff to help Medina-Perez avoid ICE custody The judge contends that a suggestion she made to hold him for another day was offered so that his attorney could discern if he were indeed the person sought by ICE after state prosecutors admitted they d likely mistaken him for a man required on a DUI charge out of Pennsylvania When allowing Medina-Perez to go to the court s holding area after his release from state custody Joseph contends she thought she was only giving the attorney space to speak with his client through an interpreter and to retrieve several belongings Everything that s come after she noted was the aftermath of bad publicity not sought by her or the court The federal charges levied against her in for allegedly obstructing federal agents and later perjuring herself were dismissed in after Judge Joseph agreed to submit to the scrutiny of the Commission and the Biden Administration concluded that the circumstance would best be addressed by state judicial oversight rather than federal criminal prosecution The occurrence holds remarkable resemblance to a more contemporary matter out of Wisconsin where federal prosecutors have alleged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan helped a man longed by ICE briefly avoid capture by allowing him to exit her court via a door not normally used by the populace Federal prosecutors in April charged Dugan with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest and a grand jury later indicted her on those charges Dugan has pleaded not guilty and put forward a defense of judicial immunity Judge Joseph s hearing is scheduled to begin at a m with a view by the appointed Hearing Officer of the Newton District Court where the alleged matter occurred and a hearing to be held afterwards at the Suffolk County Courthouse