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Mass. Supreme Judicial Court rebukes judge in ICE courthouse case
Fox News • • nation
Key Points:
- The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court publicly reprimanded Judge Shelley Joseph for instructing her clerk to turn off the courtroom's audio recording during a case involving Jose Medina-Perez, an illegal immigrant who evaded ICE arrest.
- The court found that Joseph created an appearance of impropriety but did not explicitly or implicitly approve the plan by Medina-Perez's attorney to help him escape through a rear courthouse exit.
- Joseph was indicted in 2019 on obstruction of justice charges related to the incident, but the case was dropped in 2022 after she referred herself to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, which found she engaged in willful judicial misconduct.
- Following the indictment, Joseph was suspended from the bench for three years; her attorney argued the case was distorted in the media and maintained that the prosecution was baseless.
- Joseph expressed gratitude for support during the ordeal and looks forward to returning to her judicial duties after the eight-year legal saga.
