A Fee on Judicial Conduct listening to officer has discovered {that a} Massachusetts choose accused of serving to an unlawful immigrant defendant escape from court docket didn’t participate within the plan however ought to obtain a public reprimand for impropriety.
Choose Shelley Joseph was charged by the CJC with 5 violations of the Guidelines of the Code of Judicial Conduct for allegedly serving to the escape of Jose Medina-Perez, a twice-deported man who appeared in her Newton District courtroom to face state drug and fugitive from justice costs whereas being sought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2018.
A CJC listening to came about from June 9 to June 16 of this 12 months.
“I find that Judge Joseph did not know about — much less authorize — the escape plan, and did not mislead court authorities following the incident,” listening to officer Denis McInerney wrote within the report dated Oct. 31 and publicly launched Thursday.
McInerney did discover, nevertheless, that Joseph “inadvertently created the appearance of impropriety and bias in two respects.”
These are by, one, “her communications with the defense counsel and assistant district attorney during the defendant’s arraignment, and (2) by unknowingly violating a court rule when she granted the defense counsel’s request to go off the record during a discussion regarding the immigration authorities’ interest in taking custody of the defendant.”
It is a growing story.
