The Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct has set a hearing date of June 9 for a judge accused of blocking a federal agent attempting to arrest an illegal immigrant.
The incident happened in 2018 at the courtroom of Judge Shelly Joseph in Newton, Massachusetts, on the west side of Boston.
The commission posted a detailed 111-page document that specifies the charges against Judge Joseph, including the details surrounding the incident at the courthouse.
Judge Joseph was recently denied on a motion to dismiss the charges against her by an appeals court, which ruled her request to be "premature" and refuted the claim that she had "absolute judicial immunity."
According to the Commission filing against the judge, the charges include:
- willful judicial misconduct
- conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice
- conduct unbecoming a judicial officer
- failing to comply with the law
- failing to avoid impropriety
- failing to uphold and apply the law
The incident leading to the charges involved a twice-deported illegal immigrant who was guided out of the court as the judge coached a court clerk to redirect an ICE agent who was there to make the arrest.
MassLive reported the case has similarities to a recent case involving a Wisconsin judge accused of trying to help an illegal immigrant avoid capture at a courthouse in the Milwaukee area.
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