A Massachusetts judge, Shelley Joseph, who faced criminal charges during Donald Trump’s first presidency for allegedly impeding a federal immigration arrest in her courtroom, now faces new allegations of willful misconduct from state judicial disciplinary authorities.
On Monday, the Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission filed formal charges against Judge Joseph, focusing on the same conduct at the center of her previous criminal case. Federal prosecutors dropped those charges in 2022 after Trump left office, following an agreement in which Joseph referred herself to the disciplinary authorities.
“Judge Joseph looks forward to a hearing where all the circumstances finally become public,” said her lawyer, Thomas Hoopes, in a statement. In court filings released Monday, her legal team asserted that she “committed no misconduct, and certainly no willful judicial misconduct.”
The Allegations
The case, initially filed in 2019, highlighted tensions between Trump’s administration and local governments that resisted his immigration enforcement policies. The charges stemmed from allegations that in 2018, Judge Joseph allowed a criminal defendant, who was subject to deportation, to avoid arrest by an ICE agent by permitting him to leave the courthouse through a rear door.
In 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had issued a ruling limiting how state courts and law enforcement could cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. However, the commission claims Joseph exceeded those limits, violated Massachusetts law, and breached the judicial code of conduct by actively helping the defendant evade arrest and lying about her actions to disciplinary authorities.
The commission stated that Joseph’s conduct amounted to “willful judicial misconduct” and brought the judiciary into “disrepute.”
Potential Consequences
The commission has asked the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to appoint a hearing officer to oversee a public hearing on the matter within 30 to 60 days. Judge Joseph, now serving in the Boston Municipal Court, could face removal from the bench if the charges are upheld.
