A Massachusetts judge has been charged with obstruction of justice after allegedly attempting to prevent an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer from taking custody of an immigrant. Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and trial court officer Wesley MacGregor were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and obstruction of a federal proceeding. It also accuses MacGregor of perjury. The grand jury indictment alleges that they conspired to prevent an ICE officer from taking custody of a person identified in court documents as A.S., or alien subject, at the Newton District Courthouse in Massachusetts on April 2. #BREAKING: USA #Lelling to announce federal indictment charging Massachusetts Trial Court Judge & Court Officer with obstruction of justice during 12:45 pm press conference — U.S. Attorney MA (@DMAnews1) April 25, 2019 ADVERTISEMENT The immigrant had previously been deported from the U.S. and not permitted to return until 2027, according to the court filing. After ICE learned of the individual's arrest narcotics and fugitive from justice charges, the agency issued a detainer on him, authorities said in court. The day of the proceeding, ICE sent a "plainclothes" officer to take the individual into custody, who waited in the lobby for the proceedings to finish, the filing said. The filing, citing court records, said that Joseph and the defense attorney representing the immigrant discussed the possibility of ICE picking him up. Following the proceeding, Joseph allegedly permitted the defense attorney to go speak with him and an interpreter in a lockup area in the courthouse. MacGregor then allegedly used his access card to open an exit, allowing the individual to be released while the ICE officer remained in the courthouse lobby. A federal prosecutor said in a statement that judges cannot allow personal beliefs to interfere with their jobs.<doc-sep>Federal prosecutors charged a state judge and a former court officer in Massachusetts with obstruction of justice on Thursday for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant escape from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer at a courthouse last year. The indictment of the judge, Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, 51, and the officer, Wesley MacGregor, 56, was a dramatic turn in the long-running clash between the Trump administration and state governments that have resisted its hard-line approach to immigration. Prosecutors accused Judge Joseph and Mr. MacGregor of letting their beliefs trump federal immigration law when they allegedly helped the man, who was not named in the indictment, sneak out of Newton District Courthouse in Newton, Mass., in March 2018. The judge ordered the man to go to a basement facility, where he was let out a back door, rather than into the lobby, where she knew that an ICE officer was waiting for him, prosecutors say. “The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law, and that is a crime,” United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement. “We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law.”<doc-sep>BOSTON – Federal prosecutors charged a Massachusetts judge with obstruction of justice Thursday, saying she prevented immigration agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant after a state court hearing by allowing him to leave the courthouse through a back door. The indictment marked an unusual escalation in the federal government's strict immigration enforcement policy, and its battles with states and local governments that shelter migrants. The indictment accuses District Judge Shelley Richmond Joseph and a court officer, Wesley MacGregor, of allowing the immigrant to leave the courthouse, out of a federal agent's sight, and lying about it later. The charges come in the midst of a standoff between the Trump administration and dozens of U.S. communities that have objected to providing the federal government information on residents' immigration status. Want news from USA TODAY on WhatsApp? Click this link on your mobile device to get started The U.S. Attorney in Boston, Andrew Lelling, said the case is "about the rule of law," not immigration. "We do not view this case in response to the public debate over immigration enforcement. There are reasonable arguments on both sides of that debate, but this isn’t a policy seminar," said Lelling, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017. Joseph, a judge in Newton near Boston, is charged with one count of obstruction of justice and two counts of aiding and abetting to obstruct justice. MacGregor, who retired last month from his court duties, faces the same charges, plus a perjury count. Both pleaded not guilty to all charges in Boston federal court late Thursday afternoon before a federal magistrate. The obstruction charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. They were released without having to post bond. Both have to surrender their passports and are restricted from traveling outside the U.S. MacGregor, who is licensed to carry, must surrender his firearm. "This prosecution is absolutely political," said Thomas Hoopes, an attorney representing Joseph as he escorted the judge away from the courthouse. "Shelley Joseph is absolutely innocent.” He declined to discuss the case further. The charges drew swift criticism, particularly from the left. Matthew Segal, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, called the indictment "very aggressive" and "completely outrageous." Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, also slammed the indictment as a “radical and politically-motivated attack on our state and the independence of our courts.” Prosecutors alleged that during an April 2018 court hearing in Newtown, Mass., Joseph and MacGregor allowed the Dominican national, detained on drug and outstanding warrant charges, to leave the courthouse from a downstairs back door after the judge instructed an immigration agent to wait in the hallway outside her courtroom. The migrant, later identified as Jose Medina-Perez, had previously been deported from the United States twice before – in 2003 and in 2007 – and had been barred from re-entering the country until 2027. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials learned of Medina-Perez's detention following his March 30, 2018, arrest when local police submitted his fingerprints to the national law enforcement database. The fingerprint notification prompted ICE officials to issue a detainer, requesting local police to alert them within 48 hours of any planned release. In court documents, federal prosecutors offered up a partial transcript of the court proceeding in which the judge, defense attorney and court clerk refer to the migrant's status and the risk that he would be detained by immigration officials following the hearing. "ICE is gonna get him?" Joseph asks the migrant's defense attorney. "Yeah," the attorney responds. Soon after the exchange, prosecutors allege, Joseph directed the courtroom recorder to be "turned off" for 52 seconds while the discussion continued. The defense attorney later asked that Medina-Perez be allowed to retrieve his property from a downstairs lockup. Reminded that the ICE agent was waiting outside the courtroom, the judge allegedly said: "That's fine. I'm not gonna allow them to come in here. But (the migrant) has been released on this." When he was escorted downstairs, prosecutors asserted that MacGregor used his security access card to release Medina-Perez "out the back door." Prosecutors also charged that MacGregor lied to a grand jury about what happened. Joseph, who is prohibited from commenting as part of the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct, was suspended without pay Thursday by the state's Supreme Judicial Court. Francis Kenneally, clerk of the state courts, said that the suspension is based only on the indictment for alleged misconduct. "It in no way reflects any opinion on the merits of the pending criminal case," Kenneally said. Prosecutors had said they were allowing Joseph and MacGregor to self-surrender. That happened with Joseph but not with MacGregor, who was arrested at his home. He appeared in court wearing baggy shorts and a black Boston Celtics t-shirt. In court, Christine Wichers, an assistant U.S. attorney, explained the mix-up by saying prosecutors were unable to reach MacGregor before officers showed up to arrest him. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican, had called for the removal of Joseph from the bench last year after details about the alleged courtroom incident were first reported by the Boston Globe. Joseph, 51, was appointed to the judgeship in 2017 by Baker after 25 years in both the public and private sectors. She had most recently practiced law at a firm she founded in 2003 with her husband that specialized in criminal defense. Federal authorities launched the grand jury investigation within weeks after the 2018 hearing, and it continued through this month, according to court documents. In addition to the judge's alleged actions at the hearing, prosecutors contend that Joseph made "false statements" about the matter to other state judges who inquired about the case, including a senior district judge who asked why the courtroom recording device had been disabled. Joseph allegedly attributed it to "unfamiliarity" with the equipment. All of that, prosecutors said, amounted to a violation of obstruction laws. “We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law," Lelling said. “The actions of the judge in this incident are a detriment to the rule of law and highly offensive to the law enforcement officers of ICE who swear an oath to uphold our nation’s immigration laws,” said Todd M. Lyons, the acting ICE chief in Boston. Lelling said Medina-Perez was caught about a month after leaving the Newton courthouse and is being processed for deportation. Lelling, who is leading the Justice Department’s far-flung investigation into a college admissions scandal in which 33 affluent parents are accused of paying bribes to get their children into college, indirectly referenced that case in his Thursday announcement. “More recently, I’ve had occasion to point out that the law must apply to all of us – even the rich and famous," he said. "Today I would add that it must apply to the privileged and the powerful.” He said that in “certain quarters I’ve heard the occasional gasp of dismay or outrage” about charging a judge. “But if the law is not applied equally, it cannot credibly be applied to anyone.” Johnson reported from Washington.<doc-sep>
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a suspect in Los Angeles, Calif. (Charles Reed/Reuters) Federal authorities have charged a Massachusetts trial judge with obstruction of justice after he allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Judge Shelley Richmond Joseph, 51, of Massachusetts District Court, and Wesley MacGregor, 56, a trial-court officer, are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, aiding and abetting the obstruction of justice, and aiding and abetting the obstruction of a federal proceeding, according to the federal indictment against them. MacGregor is also charged with perjury. Here's the top of the indictment of a judge and court officer – accused of helping a defendant evade ICE agents. Both are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice & obstruction of a fed proceeding. Only the court officer is charged with perjury. #wcvb pic.twitter.com/LiKlDSZeGv — Karen Anderson (@karenreports) April 25, 2019 Joseph and Macgregor allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant, identified only as A.S., avoid an ICE agent sent to Newton District Court to arrest him. A.S. had reportedly been deported twice before and arrested three days earlier for narcotics possession as well as fleeing from justice in Pennsylvania. After fingerprints were taken, ICE officials issued an order for a federal immigration detainer and sent an agent to arrest A.S. The indictment says that Joseph subsequently turned off the recording device in the courtroom in violation of District Court rules in order to be able to talk freely about the plan to help the defendant avoid ICE. “That’s fine. I’m not gonna allow them to come in here,” Joseph responded when reminded that ICE was waiting for the defendant’s release, according to federal authorities. “This case is about the rule of law,” United States Attorney Andrew Lelling said in a statement. “We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law. Everyone in the justice system – not just judges, but law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and defense counsel – should be held to a higher standard.” “The actions of the judge in this incident are a detriment to the rule of law and highly offensive to the law enforcement officers of ICE who swear an oath to uphold our nation’s immigration laws,” added Todd M. Lyons, the acting director for enforcement and removal operations in ICE’s Boston field office. Send a tip to the news team at NR.