Latest news with #judicialmisconduct
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Massachusetts judge accused of helping man evade ICE faces disciplinary hearing
BOSTON, June 9 (Reuters) - A Massachusetts judge who was criminally charged during the first Trump administration with helping a migrant slip out from a backdoor of her courthouse to avoid arrest by federal immigration agents faced a judicial misconduct hearing on Monday that could determine if she can remain on the bench. A court-appointed hearing officer in Boston began to hear arguments and testimony as he weighed whether to find Judge Shelley Joseph engaged in misconduct based on the same actions at issue in the criminal case, which prosecutors dropped in 2022 after Republican President Donald Trump's first term ended. That criminal case mirrors one the U.S. Department of Justice brought earlier this year against Hannah Dugan, a Wisconsin judge who has pleaded not guilty to helping a migrant evade an arrest outside her courtroom. Prosecutors dropped the 2019 indictment against Joseph in exchange for an agreement that the judge refer herself to disciplinary authorities. The Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission filed charges against her in December. "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 office, Denis McInerney. She said the case turned on what was said during a 52 second sidebar proceeding on April 2, 2018, in the Newton, Massachusetts, district court concerning a Dominican man that the judge impermissibly allowed to go unrecorded. The commission's chief witness, defense attorney David Jellinek, testified he had requested the judge go off-the-record because what he was going to discuss with the judge was "right on the edge of acceptable." Jellinek had just convinced a local prosecutor to dismiss a charge against his client accusing him of being a fugitive from justice based on a warrant issued out of Pennsylvania because they had the "wrong guy," he said. Because he only then faced two misdemeanor drug charges, Jellinek's client was set to be released on personal recognizance. But Jellinek said he knew an agent with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement was waiting in the lobby on the first floor and planned to arrest the man if he was released. Jellinek testified that Joseph appeared "open to helping solve the problem" and that during the off-record sidebar he asked the judge to send his client downstairs to a court lockup area and allow him to accompany him, which would allow the man to leave through a backdoor. "To the best of my recollection, she said then, 'That's what we'll do,'" Jellinek said. But Elizabeth Mulvey, a lawyer for Joseph, disputed that account. She said Joseph allowed the man to be sent to lockup to facilitate a private conversation between him and his attorney and that she assumed ICE would "then do its job." Nobody told her the man "had gone out of the back door," Mulvey said. "She knew nothing about it." She called into question Jellinek's credibility, saying his story had shifted over the years and that he was previously granted by federal prosecutors immunity in exchange for testifying against Joseph. She said that while Joseph was viewed by some as a "folk hero" and others as a "criminal" because of the allegations against her, the media and public at large wrongly believed 100% that she did let the migrant out the backdoor. "Judge Joseph, at the end of this proceeding, will be seen in a very different light than the way she has been vilified in the media," Mulvey said. Read more: Massachusetts judge accused of misconduct by impeding immigrant's arrest U.S. drops charges against Massachusetts judge in immigration arrest case Massachusetts judge can be prosecuted for blocking immigration arrest, court rules Judge accused of blocking ICE arrest tells court she can't be prosecuted Massachusetts judge loses bid to dismiss ICE arrest obstruction charges Massachusetts judge faces federal charges for blocking immigration arrest
Fox News
15 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."
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Ex-Pennsylvania judge gets prison term for shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend as he slept
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former magistrate judge in Pennsylvania convicted of shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend in the head as he slept has been sentenced to 13 1/2 to 30 years in prison. Sonya McKnight was convicted last month on attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges. She resigned her post during Wednesday's hearing, where the judge told her she was 'totally without remorse' for the shooting. McKnight has maintained her innocence, and her attorney said an appeal is ongoing. The shooting occurred in February 2024 at the boyfriend's home. McKnight had lived there, but the man repeatedly asked her to leave when their relationship ended, authorities said. Prosecutors argued at trial that McKnight was a jealous partner who 'didn't like' that she had been asked to leave, but her attorney said the ex-boyfriend couldn't identify the shooter. The ex-boyfriend testified that he couldn't see after the shooting, but that McKnight was the only other person in the home at the time. The jury deliberated for two hours before convicting McKnight on both counts she faced. McKnight, who was elected judge in Dauphin County in 2015, had been suspended without pay in mid-November 2023 after the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges, said she violated judicial probations from a previous case regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter. Local outlets reported she also shot and wounded her estranged husband in 2019. Prosecutors didn't charge her, citing self-defense.
The Independent
29-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Ex-Pennsylvania judge gets prison term for shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend as he slept
A former magistrate judge in Pennsylvania convicted of shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend in the head as he slept has been sentenced to 13 1/2 to 30 years in prison. Sonya McKnight was convicted last month on attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges. She resigned her post during Wednesday's hearing, where the judge told her she was 'totally without remorse' for the shooting. McKnight has maintained her innocence, and her attorney said an appeal is ongoing. The shooting occurred in February 2024 at the boyfriend's home. McKnight had lived there, but the man repeatedly asked her to leave when their relationship ended, authorities said. Prosecutors argued at trial that McKnight was a jealous partner who 'didn't like' that she had been asked to leave, but her attorney said the ex-boyfriend couldn't identify the shooter. The ex-boyfriend testified that he couldn't see after the shooting, but that McKnight was the only other person in the home at the time. The jury deliberated for two hours before convicting McKnight on both counts she faced. McKnight, who was elected judge in Dauphin County in 2015, had been suspended without pay in mid-November 2023 after the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges, said she violated judicial probations from a previous case regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter. Local outlets reported she also shot and wounded her estranged husband in 2019. Prosecutors didn't charge her, citing self-defense.
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Fox News
New footage shows Milwaukee judge confronting ICE before allegedly helping illegal immigrant exit
Newly released video footage appears to show Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan speaking with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the Milwaukee County Courthouse before she allegedly directed an illegal immigrant defendant to leave through a private exit. Dugan, 65, was indicted last month on federal charges of obstruction of proceedings before a U.S. agency and unlawful concealment of an individual subject to arrest. Federal prosecutors allege that the Milwaukee Circuit Court judge personally escorted Mexican illegal immigrant and domestic battery suspect Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out of the courthouse in April while ICE agents were attempting to serve a warrant. The surveillance footage, released by Milwaukee County in response to an open records request, appears to show Dugan, wearing her black robe, confronting ICE agents in the courthouse hallway. Federal prosecutors say members of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), along with federal partners from the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were preparing to serve Flores-Ruiz with a warrant in a public courthouse hallway on April 18 before his scheduled court appearance with Dugan. After becoming aware of what federal officials described as a valid immigration arrest warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan allegedly told agents that they needed a judicial warrant and told them to go to the chief judge's office. The agents then left their place in the hallway, at which point Dugan allegedly chose not to hold a hearing for Flores-Ruiz and "personally escorted" the suspect and his attorney through a private exit while the victims of his alleged crimes were in the courthouse at the time, the Justice Department said in a press release. A federal indictment accuses Dugan of "falsely" telling federal officials in April that they needed a warrant to come into her courtroom during a scheduled appearance by Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented Mexican national facing three misdemeanor battery charges. Video footage appears to show Flores-Ruiz exiting the courthouse with his attorney, while an ICE agent follows him, and then running alongside the building for about a block before agents capture and arrest him. Federal officials arrested Dugan a week after the courthouse incident. Dugan faces a maximum sentence of six years. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against her. Fox News Digital has reached out to her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, for comment on the footage. Last month, Dugan's legal team also filed a motion to dismiss the federal case against her, saying the judge "is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts." "Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset," the motion said.
