"I find that Judge Joseph did not know about - much less authorize - the escape plan, and did not mislead court authorities following the incident. However, I find that she inadvertently created the appearance of impropriety and bias ...."
"'I therefore recommend that she receive a reprimand,' wrote McInerney. 'Moreover, because this proceeding has been public, and to ensure that there is no misunderstanding as to what Judge Joseph is - and is not - being reprimanded for, I recommend that the reprimand be public.'"
"In 2019, Joseph and a court officer were federally charged with obstruction of justice on allegations that they let Jose Medina-Perez, a Dominican national who has been deported twice, sneak out a back door of Newton District Courthouse after a hearing on drug and fugitive from justice charges."
Hearing officer Denis J. McInerney recommended a public reprimand for Newton Judge Shelley Joseph in a 117-page report, finding she did not authorize a defendant's April 2018 evasion from ICE. McInerney concluded there was insufficient evidence that Joseph knew of or authorized the escape plan and that she did not mislead court authorities. McInerney found that Joseph created an appearance of impropriety through interactions at the arraignment and by unintentionally violating a court rule by allowing an off-the-record discussion about ICE's detention plans. Federal obstruction charges filed in 2019 were dropped in 2022 after Joseph agreed to refer herself to the state agency.
Read at Boston.com
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