A Massachusetts judge faced a judicial disciplinary hearing Monday for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest in 2018. The hearing came a month before a Wisconsin judge will face a trial over federal charges for similar actions.
Newtown Judge Shelley Joseph is accused of helping an illegal immigrant, who was before her court in 2018, sneak out the back of her courthouse to avoid arrest and of turning off a court recording device for 52 seconds, allegedly to hide a conversation she had with the illegal immigrant’s defense attorney. Joseph was federally charged in 2019 for obstruction by the Justice Department under President Donald Trump’s first administration.
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However, the federal charges filed against Joseph were voluntarily dismissed by the DOJ under former President Joe Biden in 2022, with the dismissal noting that she agreed to refer herself to the Judicial Conduct Commission. Joseph had a hearing for charges filed by the Judicial Conduct Commission on Monday in a Boston courtroom.
“This case is about the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the Massachusetts judiciary and the appearance of the integrity, impartiality, and independence every judge must uphold,” Judith Fabricant, special counsel for the commission, said during the Monday hearing, according to Reuters.
The Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission released its charges against Joseph late last year, accusing her of violating the judicial code of conduct and citing various rule violations. Those violations included failing to comply with the law and failing to perform her duties competently. Within 30 days of the hearing, a court-appointed hearing officer will decide if Joseph will be disciplined for her alleged actions in 2018.
During the hearing, the commission made its case using testimony from the illegal immigrant’s defense attorney, David Jellinek, who said the judge appeared “open to helping solve the problem” of immigration officers arriving at the courthouse in 2018, according to the outlet. He told the court that Joseph agreed to allow him and his client to leave through a back door during the time when the court recording device was paused.
Joseph’s lawyer, Elizabeth Mulvey, pushed back on Jellinek’s account of how the day unfolded and said she “knew nothing about” the plan for Jellinek and the illegal immigrant to go out a back door. Mulvey also called into question Jellinek’s reliability, arguing his story changed after federal prosecutors offered him immunity from being charged if he testified against the judge.
The hearing came a month before a different state judge is slated to face a trial over federal obstruction charges for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest earlier this year. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed judicial immunity for her actions.
INDICTED MILWAUKEE JUDGE CLAIMS ‘ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY’ IN BID TO DISMISS OBSTRUCTION CHARGES
Dugan is accused of misdirecting federal immigration agents and allowing an illegal immigrant appearing before her court to leave through a back door used for juries. She cited the 2024 Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States, which ruled presidents have immunity for official acts, as support for her claim of judicial immunity for actions in her courtroom.
The trial in Dugan’s case is scheduled for July 21.