Latest news with #Medina-Perez
Boston Globe
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘She knew nothing about it': Newton judge Shelley Joseph denies helping defendant evade ICE in 2018
Monday's hearing involves the latest chapter in a saga that stretches from President Trump's first term to his second, amid a renewed immigration crackdown that has sparked As part of that agreement, Joseph admitted she knew that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were waiting to detain defendant Jose Medina-Perez, that she asked them to leave the courtroom, and that she had an off-the-record conversation with court parties that violated court rules. But she did not admit wrongdoing or deliberately helping Medina-Perez avoid ICE. Advertisement The Advertisement Joseph's disciplinary case is being heard before Denis J. McInerny, a former deputy assistant attorney general with the Department of Justice, and the commission has appointed former Superior Court chief justice Judith Fabricant as special counsel to prosecute the case. McInerny will submit his findings to the Commission within 30 days of the hearing, and the Commission can then recommend discipline to the Supreme Judicial Court. Only the Legislature can remove a judge from the bench for misconduct. The hearing began with a site visit to Newton District Court Monday morning. Proceedings resumed in Boston with the questioning of defense attorney David Jellinek, who acknowledged hatching the plan to help his client evade ICE. Fabricant accused Joseph of allowing an off-the-record conversation in violation of court rules, and accused her of lacking transparency when she later discussed the incident with senior judges. 'She did not volunteer information she should have volunteered,' Fabricant said. The hearing is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning, with testimony from former Middlesex assistant district attorney Shannon McDermott, the prosecutor for Medina-Perez' case. The controversy dates back to April 2018, when Medina-Perez, a Dominican national who had been deported twice before, was in court to face charges for possessing drugs and for being a fugitive from justice. An ICE agent had shown up to the courthouse to detain him, and Joseph had him wait outside the courtroom, what she said was in accordance with policy set by Newton District Court's First Justice Mary Heffernan. Advertisement Joseph and the prosecutor agree on a certain set of facts. On the day at issue, Medina-Perez had switched from a court appointed defender to Jellinek, a veteran private attorney who frequently practiced in Newton District Court. After a lunch break, Jellinek asked for a side bar conference, telling Joseph and McDermott that he was concerned ICE had misidentified his client and was going to detain him anyway. Jellinek then asked to go off-the-record, leading to a 52-second unrecorded conversation between himself, Joseph and the prosecutor. McDermott agreed to drop the fugitive charge, and Joseph ordered Medina-Perez released without bail pending his next hearing on the drug counts. Instead of exiting through the front door, which would be typical, Jellinek and the court officer went downstairs with Medina-Perez and released him through a back door, which the waiting ICE agents did not discover until he had already left the building. But what exactly was said during that 52-second gap in the tape recording remains under dispute. Jellinek, who was given immunity by federal prosecutors, told a grand jury he told Joseph of his plan to help Medina-Perez avoid capture, and that she agreed to it. 'My impression was she did also did not want ICE necessarily to pick up the wrong person,' Jellinek said at Monday's hearing. But Joseph's attorneys argued that Jellinek had incentive to exaggerate the judge's knowledge to avoid facing federal charges himself. Thomas Hoopes, one of Joseph's attorneys, described Jellinek's deal as a 'get-out-of-jail-free card.' 'Did anyone explain to you how rare it is for the mastermind of any crime — federally — to be immunized?' Hoopes said. Advertisement 'I never had that conversation,' Jellinek said. Mulvey described Jellinek as the 'mastermind' of an 'ill conceived scheme,' saying Joseph was left in the dark about his true intentions. 'Nobody told her Medina Perez had gone out the back door,' Mulvey said. 'She knew nothing about it.' Jellinek denied deceiving Joseph, and defended his behavior as legitimate advocacy for his client's interests. He said he asked to talk off-the-record because he knew helping Medina-Perez leave by the back door was 'right on the edge of acceptable or appropriate.' 'I was trying to protect everybody, but myself and the judge especially,' Jellinek said. Joseph is not the only judge to face federal prosecution for allegedly helping a defendant evade ICE. Last month, a federal grand jury Shelley Murphy can be reached at
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newton judge contests her role after man evaded ICE capture at court
A district court judge from Massachusetts appeared in a disciplinary hearing on Monday after a Dominican man eluded Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in her courthouse in 2018. Judge Shelley Joseph appeared for her hearing at 10 a.m. on Monday in the Suffolk County Courthouse, before the Commission for Judicial Conduct and a hearing officer appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court, attorney Denis McInerney. The hearing will determine whether she can remain a judge. She has been accused of helping Jose Medina-Perez, a man subject to an immigration detainer, avoid capture in April 2018 by allowing him to slip through the back door of the Newton District Courthouse where he was on trial. Medina-Perez had been charged with being a fugitive from justice based on a warrant issued in a case in Pennsylvania, and two misdemeanor counts of controlled substance violations. Joseph was indicted in 2019 on charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, aiding and abetting obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting obstruction of a federal proceeding and perjury. A major flashpoint of the case against Joseph is what was said in a 52-second, off-the-record conversation in the courtroom that April day between her and Medina-Perez's attorney, David Jellenik. Joseph has maintained her innocence and alleged that Jellinek falsely implicated her to obtain immunity for himself, which he was officially granted in 2019 after speaking with federal authorities about the 52-second sidebar chat. The indictment against Joseph was filed while Andrew Lelling, a Trump appointee, served as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. However, the charges were dismissed in 2022 under Rachael Rollins, a Biden appointee, after Joseph attested to a statement of relevant facts and agreed to refer herself to the Commission on Judicial Conduct. Since then, the commission filed its charges against Joseph to kick off a process that began with Monday's hearing. The appointed hearing officer, McInerney, will issue a report with proposed findings and recommendations within 30 days of the hearing. In the Boston courtroom on Monday, Joseph's attorney, Elizabeth Mulvey, emphasized misconceptions around her client's role in Medina-Perez leaving the courthouse. '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,' Mulvey said. '50% of them would tell you that she's a criminal, and she should go to jail. 50% would tell you she's a folk hero for what she gave. But 100% would tell you she did it,' Mulvey said. The case has become such a part of 'local lore' in Boston that media outlets have 'dropped the niceties of alleged or charged,' she said. '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,' she said. In reality, it was Jellenik who was the 'mastermind' and came to Joseph with the plan to take his client out a back door, she said. Conversely, Judith Fabricant, a retired judge, presented a methodical opening statement and said the case is 'about the integrity, impartiality and independence of American justice.' Fabricant argued on behalf of the commission. Her argument on Joseph's judicial misconduct was based on that 52-second period of off-record conversation between Joseph and Jellenik in the Newton courtroom on April 2, 2018. Fabricant said the two discussed the presence of ICE in the courthouse that day and how Medina-Perez could exit the building without coming into contact with the agents. 'Judge Joseph conducted an unrecorded discussion with counsel in violation of district court ... so far, these facts are undisputed,' Fabricant said. 'What happened in those 52 seconds when they weren't recording?' she asked before relaying a timeline of Medina-Perez's escape. Joseph was the only judge sitting in Newton District Court on that day in April — the first time in her relatively short tenure as the only judge in a courthouse, according to the commission. That day, Joseph oversaw Medina-Perez's arraignment. When the case was first called, Joseph appointed a public defender for the case. The prosecutor told Joseph she was asking for Medina-Perez to be held without bail on a charge, and the case was recessed. After the first call — but before the case was called for the final time that day — Joseph learned there were ICE agents at the courthouse with a civil detainer, giving them permission to detain Medina-Perez if he were to be released from custody in Massachusetts. While the case was recessed, Joseph told the session clerk to tell the ICE agent to wait outside the courthouse or on the first floor of the building, consistent with the court's policy. During the recess, Medina-Perez retained a private lawyer. By the time the final hearing began, the commission writes, the lawyer had formulated a plan with the court officer to permit Medina-Perez to avoid ICE. The Commission for Judicial Conduct formally accused Joseph of 'willful judicial misconduct' and conduct 'prejudicial to the administration of justice.' Although it remains unclear as of Monday afternoon when the disciplinary proceedings will conclude, McInerney will issue a report within 30 days of it ending. Mass. weather: Central Mass. could see over 1 inch of rain on Tuesday Some Nantucket short-term rentals in jeopardy after land court decision Criminal defendants are being held without lawyers in Mass. as bar advocates refuse new cases Big Y plans changes to its Tower Square store Mass. labor groups rally against ICE arrest of California union leader Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
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. Us Drops Charges Against Judge Accused Of Helping Illegal Immigrant Avoid Ice Capture 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." Read On The Fox News App 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. Massachusetts Judge Who Helped Illegal Immigrant Escape Ice Arrest Indicted, Federal Authorities Say 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."Original article source: Boston judge accused of helping illegal alien evade ICE agent, escape courthouse faces hearing
