Suspension without pay recommended for judge accused of helping man avoid ICE

The misconduct hearing for a Bay State judge accused of helping a man escape from immigration agents wrapped up Monday with lawyers for the Commission on Judicial Conduct calling for the judge’s permanent suspension.

Judge Shelley Joseph should be suspended indefinitely and stripped of her $207,855 salary over her alleged failure to uphold the standards required of a judge, and the entire matter should be sent to state lawmakers who hold the power to remove her, special counsel for the CJC Judith Fabricant told the CJC.

“The judge can no longer command the respect and authority essential to judicial function,” Fabricant said Monday, the sixth day of a hearing over whether Joseph was a willing participant in the escape of Jose Medina-Perez, a twice-deported man who appeared in her Newton District courtroom to face state drug and fugitive from justice charges while being sought by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in 2018.

According to since-dropped federal charges filed against Joseph, she allegedly knew that Medina-Perez’s defense attorney meant to help him avoid federal custody. Part of the deal that saw the charges dropped was that Joseph should submit herself to review by the CJC.

In civil charges brought by the commission, Joseph is accused of engaging in “willful judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute” by allegedly helping Medina-Perez sneak out of the courthouse’s back door and avoid ICE agents waiting for him in the front lobby.

She is also charged with “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and unbecoming of a judicial officer.”

Monday’s session of the hearing consisted entirely of closing arguments from counsel for Judge Joseph and the CJC. Joseph herself took the witness stand last week.

Fabricant closed her arguments by recommending that Joseph face a public reprimand along with a period of at-work monitoring for violating court rules by going off the record on April 2, 2018, when defense attorney David Jellinek asked to speak with her and the assistant district attorney at sidebar.

The special counsel also suggested that Joseph face a further public reprimand for “actual bias” and “the appearance of bias,” both of which are also prohibited under court rules.

However, for allegedly failing to be entirely candid and honest with fellow judges, the special counsel, or the hearing officer — all of whom were trying to get to the truth of her actions — Fabricant, said that it would be “appropriate” for the judge to all but lose her job via suspension.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct cannot remove a judge, Fabricant noted, but the Legislature and the Governor can. She suggested a referral to lawmakers should also be included in Joseph’s punishment.

Attorneys for the judge said that the entire matter centered around the strength of the word of Jellinek, who was granted immunity by federal prosecutors to provide testimony on the contents of the off-the-record conversation at the center of the case. According to Thomas Hoopes, one of Joseph’s lawyers, Jellinek cannot be taken at his word.

“David Jellinek is a liar. David Jellinek is not just any liar – he’s a criminal, who for some reason is still practicing this trade. Not just as a lawyer, but as a liar,” Hoopes said.

It is Jellinek, not the judge, who was the mastermind behind the plan to help Medina-Perez avoid ICE, Hoopes said.

Joseph, he said, was the only person in the court that day trying to comply with the state’s Lunn decision — which forbids court officers from holding a person over a civil detainer request from ICE — and had no part in seeing Medina-Perez escape apprehension.

Joseph testified Thursday that she first learned that the defendant had managed to avoid arrest from First Justice Mary Beth Heffernan, two days after she presided over Medina-Perez’s case.

However, according to Hoopes, when the feds were in the middle of hauling witnesses to the events in question before a grand jury and Jellinek was in their crosshairs, he was offered immunity by prosecutors looking for testimony to support an indictment.

“Once he made the trade,” Hoopes said, Jellinek “made up” his story about what Joseph knew and what she’d agreed to.

Jellinek testified on Monday that he explained to Joseph during their 52-second off-the-record sidebar conversation that he hoped to get his client out of the courthouse without encountering ICE.

The attorney said he knew there was a door used by court officers to accept criminal defendants, and he told the judge he would use that back door, with her permission. Jellinek admitted that he knew what he was doing was “on the edge” of ethical and legal, but said he was convinced he hadn’t broken any laws by “zealously advocating” for his client’s freedom.

Whether Joseph will walk free of the civil charges she faces or what punishment she might actually see won’t be known until at least August.

Hearing Officer Denis McInerney said Monday he would give the parties until July 3 to file post-hearing briefs and until July 10 to file responses to them.

At that point the proceeding will be officially closed, McInerney said. A written report and recommendation for the CJC will come 30 days after that, the hearing officer said.

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