Judge Shelley Joseph disciplinary hearing to begin June 9

Listen to this article

The hearing on the formal disciplinary charges filed against Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph will begin on Monday, June 9, confirmed Howard Neff, executive director of the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Neff added that he expected to release additional details soon about the hearing, including the the exact time and location of the hearing.

The Supreme Judicial Court has appointed Denis J. McInerney of Davis Polk in New York as the hearing officer. For 18 years, Polk served as a partner in Davis Polk’s white collar defense and investigations practice before assuming senior counsel status.

In December, Joseph was charged with violating the following Code of Judicial Conduct rules:

• Rule 1.1 (failing to comply with the law).
• Rule 1.2 (acting in a manner that undermines public confidence in judicial independence and integrity).
• Rules 2.2 and Rule 2.5 (failing to perform judicial duties fairly, impartially, and competently)
• Rule 2.16 (failing to cooperate candidly with judicial disciplinary authorities).

The charges stem from Joseph allegedly helping a defendant in her courtroom, Jose Medina-Perez, avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seeking to detain Medina-Perez under a civil immigration detainer after his release from state custody on April 2, 2018.

According to the charges, Joseph allowed an off-the-record discussion in her courtroom — a direct violation of Massachusetts District Court Special Rule 211, which mandates the recording of all courtroom proceedings. This sidebar, lasting 52 seconds, allegedly included plans to permit the defendant to avoid ICE custody by exiting through the courthouse’s rear sally-port door.

Joseph’s actions have received renewed attention since the April 25 arrest by the FBI of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities by escorting him and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door.

The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot.