Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court has formally reprimanded Judge Shelley Joseph for her role in the 2018 courthouse fiasco in which an illegal immigrant slipped out the back door while an ICE officer waited in the lobby. The court zeroed in on Joseph’s decision to shut off the courtroom audio — a move so blatantly improper that even the state’s top judges couldn’t pretend it was normal.
According to the ruling, Joseph’s behavior “created an appearance of impropriety,” which is a polite judicial way of saying she acted like someone who thought the rules didn’t apply to her. The Commission on Judicial Conduct agreed, concluding she engaged in “willful judicial misconduct” that dragged the reputation of the bench through the mud.
Joseph had released the defendant, Jose Medina‑Perez, after deciding the Pennsylvania warrant tying him to a fugitive charge wasn’t strong enough. Moments later, he was quietly ushered out a rear exit — an event that eventually led to Joseph and a court officer being indicted for obstruction of justice. The charges were dropped only after Joseph agreed to subject herself to disciplinary review.
Despite three years of suspension and a federal indictment, Joseph’s defenders insist she’s the real victim here, claiming the case was “distorted” and that she never approved any plan to help Medina‑Perez dodge ICE. The Supreme Judicial Court didn’t buy that narrative entirely, but it did stop short of saying she knowingly participated in the escape.
After all this, Joseph remains a judge — now tucked away in administrative duties in Boston Municipal Court — where, presumably, she’ll have fewer opportunities to turn off recording devices or accidentally assist courthouse jailbreaks.
