Judge accused of enabling immigrant to escape ICE gets a rare public reprimand

The highest court in Massachusetts on Thursday issued a public reprimand against a district court judge who was accused of allowing an immigrant to escape US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.The case dates back to 2018 when Judge Shelley Joseph was accused of colluding with the immigrant’s attorney and a court officer to allow him to escape out a back door of the courthouse after a hearing on charges that included drug possession.The decision by the Supreme Judicial Court follows a recommendation for the reprimand by a hearing officer for the Commission on Judicial Conduct.It concluded that Joseph created the appearance of impropriety and failed to comply with the law.“The respondent’s statements during that conversation, including her proposal to detain (the immigrant) overnight in State custody, and her conduct in instructing the clerk to turn off the courtroom audio recording system, created an appearance of impropriety in violation of her duties,” according to the Supreme Judicial Court ruling.Joseph’s attorney, Elizabeth Mulvey, argued at the commission hearing last year that 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 the public believing she should be jailed and the other half calling her a “folk hero.”Mulvey also argued that 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 Godspeed.”On Thursday, Mulvey acknowledged that it had been an “incredibly long and difficult eight years for Judge Joseph.”“We are grateful to the hearing officer who undertook this monumental task and pleased that his efforts have shown that this was a baseless federal prosecution from the beginning and solely the work of the defense lawyer involved,” Mulvey said in a statement.

“Judge Josep...