Latest news with #JoseMedinaPerez
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Hearing held for judge accused of allowing immigrant to escape ICE custody
A hearing began Monday for a Massachusetts judge facing civil charges over allegations that she allowed an immigrant in her court to evade an immigration enforcement agent. The case stems from a 2018 incident in which Shelley Joseph, a district court judge, is accused of colluding with the immigrant's attorney and a court officer to allow him escape out a back door of the courthouse after a hearing on charges that included drug possession. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer had been waiting outside the courtroom to detain the defendant, Jose Medina-Perez. '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, told the hearing. A lawyer for Joseph, Elizabeth Mulvey, said the case had been distorted over time and that everyone had come to believe that her client 'let an illegal immigrant out of the door" with half of those people believing she should be jailed and the other half calling her a 'folk hero.' She argued Joseph had been vilified in the media and people were giving the impression that 'dozens of people' had seen Joseph 'get off the bench, escort the defendant to the door, give him a hug and wish him god speed.' 'Today in this court room and we are going to have opportunity to hear all the evidence,' Mulvey said. The case is similar to a Milwaukee judge accused in April of helping a man evade immigration authorities. The case has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and local authorities over the Republican president's sweeping immigration crackdown. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest. The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot. In the Massachusetts case, federal obstruction of justice charges against Joseph were dropped in 2022 after she agreed to refer herself to a state agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the bench. That agency, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, concluded last year that Joseph 'engaged in willful judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute, as well as conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and unbecoming a judicial officer.' Denis McInerney, the hearing officer assigned to the case by the Supreme Judicial Court, said he will hear the evidence and then make a recommendation afterward based on whether he find Joseph violated the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct. The hearing is expected to last about a week. Much of the first day was dominated by the first witness, lawyer David Jellinek, who told the court he had been hired that day to represent Medina-Perez and had been granted immunity by federal prosecutors. Along with the drug charges, Medina-Perez was in court on a warrant out of Pennsylvania. After doing some research, Jellinek believed his client wasn't the same person wanted on the warrant. 'I was worried they were going to take a US citizen into custody,' he told the court. 'I was quite concerned for my client.' Jellinek failed to convince the ICE agent that they had the 'wrong guy" so he came up with a plan to release Medina-Perez out the back door. Fabricant argued that Joseph signal her approval for the plan - including an off the record conversation during a side bar — when she appeared sympathetic to Jellinek's desire for his client to avoid ICE. But another attorney for Joseph, Thomas Hoopes, suggest that Jellinek might have misinterpreted Joseph's comments when she raised the possibility that Medina-Perez could be detained, rather than be released. The prosecutor had agreed Medina-Perez wasn't the man wanted in Pennsylvania and moved to drop the fugitive from justice charge. She also wasn't seeking bail on the drug charges so he was free to go. Much will hinge on what was said during that off the record conversation, which lasted only 52 seconds and is being disputed by both sides.
Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Hearing held for judge accused of allowing immigrant to escape ICE custody
BOSTON (AP) — A hearing began Monday for a Massachusetts judge facing civil charges over allegations that she allowed an immigrant in her court to evade an immigration enforcement agent. The case stems from a 2018 incident in which Shelley Joseph, a district court judge, is accused of colluding with the immigrant's attorney and a court officer to allow him escape out a back door of the courthouse after a hearing on charges that included drug possession. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer had been waiting outside the courtroom to detain the defendant, Jose Medina-Perez. '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, told the hearing. A lawyer for Joseph, Elizabeth Mulvey, said the case had been distorted over time and that everyone had come to believe that her client 'let an illegal immigrant out of the door' with half of those people believing she should be jailed and the other half calling her a 'folk hero.' She argued Joseph had been vilified in the media and people were giving the impression that 'dozens of people' had seen Joseph 'get off the bench, escort the defendant to the door, give him a hug and wish him god speed.' 'Today in this court room and we are going to have opportunity to hear all the evidence,' Mulvey said. The case is similar to a Milwaukee judge accused in April of helping a man evade immigration authorities. The case has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and local authorities over the Republican president's sweeping immigration crackdown. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest. The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot. In the Massachusetts case, federal obstruction of justice charges against Joseph were dropped in 2022 after she agreed to refer herself to a state agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the bench. That agency, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, concluded last year that Joseph 'engaged in willful judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute, as well as conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and unbecoming a judicial officer.' Denis McInerney, the hearing officer assigned to the case by the Supreme Judicial Court, said he will hear the evidence and then make a recommendation afterward based on whether he find Joseph violated the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct. The hearing is expected to last about a week. Much of the first day was dominated by the first witness, lawyer David Jellinek, who told the court he had been hired that day to represent Medina-Perez and had been granted immunity by federal prosecutors. Along with the drug charges, Medina-Perez was in court on a warrant out of Pennsylvania. After doing some research, Jellinek believed his client wasn't the same person wanted on the warrant. 'I was worried they were going to take a US citizen into custody,' he told the court. 'I was quite concerned for my client.' Jellinek failed to convince the ICE agent that they had the 'wrong guy' so he came up with a plan to release Medina-Perez out the back door. Fabricant argued that Joseph signal her approval for the plan - including an off the record conversation during a side bar — when she appeared sympathetic to Jellinek's desire for his client to avoid ICE. But another attorney for Joseph, Thomas Hoopes, suggest that Jellinek might have misinterpreted Joseph's comments when she raised the possibility that Medina-Perez could be detained, rather than be released. The prosecutor had agreed Medina-Perez wasn't the man wanted in Pennsylvania and moved to drop the fugitive from justice charge. She also wasn't seeking bail on the drug charges so he was free to go. Much will hinge on what was said during that off the record conversation, which lasted only 52 seconds and is being disputed by both sides.
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Boston judge accused of helping illegal alien evade ICE agent, escape courthouse faces hearing
A Boston judge accused of helping an illegal alien evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and escape out of the courthouse in 2018 is facing a misconduct hearing on Monday. The judge, Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, is currently facing a civil misconduct charge from a 2018 incident in which she allegedly helped Jose Medina-Perez, a Dominican national who had been deported twice, leave Newton District Court undetected. Medina-Perez, who had been prohibited from re-entering the United States until 2027, had appeared in court on drug possession charges and a fugitive warrant from Pennsylvania and an ICE agent was waiting to take him into custody. Joseph is appearing before the Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Monday and the hearing is ongoing. Presiding Judge Denis McInerney said that he will issue a report after the hearing concludes of his findings and recommendations. At the start of the hearing, Joseph's counsel emphasized that her client had not been convicted 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," her counsel said in an opening statement. "Fifty percent of them would tell you that she's a criminal, and she should go to jail. Fifty percent would tell you she's a folk hero for what she gave. But 100% would tell you she did it. It has 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, escorted the defendant to the door, gave him a hug and wished him Godspeed." Medina-Perez's attorney, David Jellinek, has also taken the stand for cross-examination. He struck an immunity deal with federal authorities to testify against Joseph. In 2019, the Justice Department indicted Joseph and former trial court officer Wesley MacGregor on obstructive of justice charges. Both pleaded not guilty. Federal prosecutors alleged Joseph instructed a court clerk to tell the ICE agent present to wait in the lobby, claiming that if the defendant was released, he would come out through the courtroom door into the lobby. Later, Joseph allegedly ordered the courtroom clerk to "go off the record for a moment" and the courtroom audio recorder was turned off for 52 seconds. Once the audio record was back on, Joseph said she would release the defendant. Federal prosecutors said Medina-Perez's defense attorney had asked to speak with the defendant downstairs and Joseph responded, "That's fine. Of course." When reminded by the clerk that an ICE Officer was in the courthouse, Joseph allegedly stated, "That's fine. I'm not gonna allow them to come in here. But he's been released on this," according to court documents. Prosecutors said MacGregor allegedly escorted the defendant, his attorney and an interpreter downstairs to the lockup and used his security access card to open the rear sally-port exit and release the defendant. The Justice Department agreed to drop the charges against Joseph in September 2022 after she referred herself to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC) and admitted to certain facts related to the case. The Massachusetts CJC filed formal charges accusing Joseph of "willful judicial misconduct" and conduct "prejudicial to the administration of justice."
