Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court has issued a public reprimand against District Court Judge Shelley Joseph over a 2018 courthouse incident that drew national attention, according to reporting adapted from the Associated Press via Headline USA. Joseph had been accused of allowing an immigrant defendant to exit through a back door of the courthouse after a hearing while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought to take him into custody.
What the court found
The Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling concluded that Joseph created the appearance of impropriety and failed to comply with the law. Quoting the decision, the report states: “The respondent’s statements during that conversation, including her proposal to detain (the immigrant) overnight in State custody, and her conduct in instructing the clerk to turn off the court room audio recording system, created an appearance of impropriety in violation of her duties.”
The reprimand followed a recommendation by a hearing officer for the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct. Per the source, the commission later concluded that Joseph “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.”
How the criminal case ended
According to the report, federal obstruction of justice charges filed against Joseph were dropped in 2022 after she agreed to refer herself to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The defense response
Joseph’s attorney, Elizabeth Mulvey, argued at a commission hearing last year that the case had been distorted over time, with public perceptions polarized about what occurred. On Thursday, Mulvey described it as “an incredibly long and difficult eight years for Judge Joseph.” In a statement quoted in the report, Mulvey said, “We are grateful to the hearing officer who undertook this monumental task and pleased that his efforts have shown that this was a baseless federal prosecution from the beginning and solely the work of the defense lawyer involved. Judge Joseph is thankful for everyone who stood by her and looks forward to rejoining her colleagues.” These are Mulvey’s characterizations.
A related Wisconsin case
The report notes a similar case involving former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted in December of felony obstruction for helping a man evade immigration authorities. According to the source, Dugan escorted a man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door after learning immigration authorities were seeking his arrest; the man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after a foot chase. Dugan later resigned amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers, and in a resignation letter said her prosecution threatened “the independence of our judiciary.”
The report adds that Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany had urged authorities to “lock her up.” In July, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman fined Dugan $5,000 and spared her prison time, describing the case as one where “an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment,” according to the source.
