The highest court in Massachusetts on Thursday issued a public reprimand against a district court judge accused of enabling an immigrant to evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision follows a recommendation for the reprimand by a hearing officer for the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The ruling concluded that Judge Shelley Joseph created an appearance of impropriety and failed to comply with the law. The case dates back to 2018, when Joseph was accused of working with the immigrant’s attorney and a court officer to allow the individual to exit the courthouse through a back door after a hearing on charges including drug possession.
According to the Supreme Judicial Court ruling, “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.”
Joseph’s attorney, Elizabeth Mulvey, stated that the case had been distorted and that her client had been vilified in the media. Mulvey also noted that the federal prosecution was baseless. "Judge Joseph is thankful for everyone who stood by her and looks forward to rejoining her colleagues,” Mulvey said in a statement.
In 2019, Joseph and a court officer were charged with obstruction of justice. Those charges against Joseph were dropped in 2022 after she agreed to refer herself to the Commission on Judicial Conduct. The commission 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.”
After her federal indictment in April 2019, Joseph was suspended from judicial duties for over three years. Joseph, who remains a judge, was assigned in December to administrative duties in the Boston Municipal Court, where she will resume her judicial responsibilities.