Judge Under Scrutiny by Judicial Board for Alleged Assistance to Migrant Seven Years Previously
HOST:
It's judgment day for a Massachusetts judge, but not for violent crimes like you might think. Judge Shelley Joseph is accused of helping an undocumented immigrant slip out of her courtroom to dodge immigration enforcement agents—similar to a case in Wisconsin. Despite criminal charges being dropped, she's now fighting to keep her job before a judicial conduct board, as NPR's Tovia Smith reports.
TOVIA SMITH: The trial-like hearing for Judge Joseph starts today with a tour of the Newton District Court's courtroom, where the undocumented immigrant exited through the back door to elude the ICE agents waiting at the front. The immigrant, who had been deported twice before, was in court on drug charges. In 2019, Judge Joseph herself faced charges of her own—conspiracy and obstruction of justice, charges that could have meant years behind bars.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANDREW LELLING: You've heard the occasional gasp of dismay or outrage.
SMITH: Former U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, who was in charge during Trump's first administration, acknowledged the gravity of the accusations but denied they were politically motivated. Rather, Lelling argued, Joseph's personal beliefs led her to violate the law.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LELLING: We don't get to pick and choose the federal laws we follow. That is a crime. It makes no difference to me if the federal laws involved are immigration laws, drug laws, tax laws or anything else.
SMITH: Both Judge Joseph and her attorney declined to comment, but she maintains her innocence, insisting she had no knowledge of any plan to evade the ICE agents. In legal filings, she alleges she was wrongly accused by her supposed coconspirator in exchange for self-incrimination immunity. But Judge Joseph's big break came when the Biden administration dropped the charges, allowing the matter to be settled instead by the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Former state Supreme Court Justice Geraldine Hines argues that the commission, not the court, is the appropriate place to handle a case like this.
GERALDINE HINES: We don't stand over judges and question them about, why did you decide this? We don't do that.
SMITH: This isn't about a judge obstructing ICE, Hines asserts. It's about ICE undermining the independent state judiciary—the very authority we grant them.
HINES: Judges temper justice with mercy. You have to give them space to make those hard decisions.
SMITH: The commission's proceedings will resemble a trial, with testimony and cross-examination that could last for a week or so.
Tovia Smith, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF PALE WHITE MOON'S "HEIRLOOMS")
Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
In April 2018, an undocumented immigrant, Jose Medina-Perez, appeared before Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph in the Newton District Court. Medina-Perez's defense attorney, David Jellinek, reportedly orchestrated a plan to help Medina-Perez evade ICE agents waiting at the courthouse. The plan involved keeping Medina-Perez in a lockup area and exiting through a rear door while ICE agents were upstairs.
The Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC) filed formal charges against Judge Joseph, leading to a public hearing that began on June 9, 2025, presided over by Hearing Officer Denis J. McInerney. The central issue of the hearing is whether Judge Joseph was aware of and consenting to Jellinek's plan, which could determine her culpability and potential sanctions. The proceedings are aimed at determining whether Judge Joseph has violated the Code of Judicial Conduct, with no mention of "dropped charges" in the available information. The outcome of the hearing will depend on the evidence presented regarding her involvement in the plan to aid Medina-Perez in avoiding ICE agents, which could lead to sanctions if found guilty of misconduct.
- The ongoing hearing for Judge Joseph by the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct, which started on June 9, 2025, revolves around her alleged involvement in helping an undocumented immigrant evade immigration enforcement agents, a case similar to one in Wisconsin.
- The news about Judge Joseph's trial-like hearing for her role in crime-and-justice matters has implications for policy-and-legislation, with concerns about judicial conduct and the independence of the state judiciary in war-and-conflicts and general-news discussions.
- The judicial conduct board hearing for Judge Joseph follows events in April 2018 when an undocumented immigrant, Jose Medina-Perez, was allegedly aided by his defense attorney to evade ICE agents at the courthouse, raising questions about the role of politics in the criminal justice system.
