A judge in Boston, Massachusetts, accused of trying to help an illegal immigrant avoid arrest by ICE apparently had no knowledge of the escape plan and only inadvertently assisted in its execution, a state investigation has concluded.
Judge Shelley Richmond Joseph did allow the illegal immigrant to leave her courtroom and go back to the courthouse lock-up area, where the migrant’s lawyer and a court officer worked together to help the person leave the building.
However, Hearing Officer Denis J. McInerney’s investigation found that Judge Joseph had no knowledge of these intentions. She only allowed the migrant to go back to jail because she thought he needed to speak privately with his lawyer.
An interpreter and a lawyer present made contrary statements, which McInerney explicitly dismissed as untrustworthy.
Instead, he believed what Judge Joseph and another lawyer said, which was that the judge had never heard of the escape plan.
Even so, McInerney said that Judge Joseph should be publicly reprimanded for holding an off-the-record sidebar meeting, which was against the rules and gave the impression that she was helping the migrant escape.
“I find that Judge Joseph did not know about — much less authorize — the escape plan and did not mislead court authorities following the incident. However, I find that she inadvertently created the appearance of impropriety and bias,” McInerney concluded.
Medina-Perez, who is forbidden from reentering the United States until 2027, appeared in court on drug possession charges and a fugitive warrant from Pennsylvania. An ICE agent was waiting outside the courthouse to take him into custody.
At the conduct review hearing, Judge Joseph’s counsel emphasized that their client had not been proven guilty of any crime.
“If you were to walk down the street and take a survey of the people you meet, 100% of them would tell you Judge Joseph let an illegal immigrant out the back door of the district court,” the attorney representing Joseph said in his opening remarks. “Half of them would say she’s a criminal and should go to jail. Half would call her a folk hero for what she did. But she definitely did it.”
“It’s become such a part of local lore in Boston that the media, for the most part, have dropped the niceties of ‘alleged’ or ‘charged,’ and they report and make references to this incident as if a dozen people had seen Judge Joseph get off the bench, escort the defendant to the door, give him a hug, and wish him Godspeed,” Joseph’s attorney said.
David Jellinek, Medina-Perez’s attorney, signed an immunity agreement with federal officials in exchange for his testimony against Joseph.
Federal prosecutors claimed that Joseph instructed a court clerk to inform the ICE agent present to wait in the lobby, implying that if the defendant was released, he would exit through the courtroom entrance into the lobby.
Later, Joseph allegedly instructed the courtroom clerk to “go off the record for a moment,” resulting in the courtroom audio being turned off for 52 seconds.
When the audio recording resumed, Joseph announced that she would release the defendant. Federal prosecutors said in court documents that Medina-Perez’s defense counsel requested to meet with the defendant downstairs, to which Joseph replied, “That’s great. Of course.”
When the clerk informed the judge that an ICE officer was at the courthouse awaiting the defendant’s release, Joseph allegedly replied, “That’s OK. I will not allow them to enter here. But he has been released regarding this matter,” according to court records.
Prosecutors also stated that MacGregor led the defendant, his attorney, and an interpreter down to the courthouse lock-up. He then used his security access card to unlock the rear sally-port door, allowing the defendant to escape unnoticed.
The Justice Department decided to drop the charges against Joseph in September 2022 after she self-reported the matter to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC) and admitted key facts about the case.
The Massachusetts CJC filed formal charges against Joseph, accusing her of “willful judicial misconduct” and behavior “prejudicial to the administration of justice.”