Full Breakdown
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Publicly Reprimands Judge Shelley Joseph
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On September 10 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a rare public reprimand to Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph of the Newton District Court. The reprimand stems from her conduct during a April 2 2018 courtroom sidebar in which a defendant sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) left the courtroom through a back door, evading ICE agents waiting in the hallway.
Background & Context
In 2018, Jose Medina-Perez, a twice-deported Dominican national, appeared before Judge Joseph on state drug-possession and fugitive-from-justice charges. An ICE detainer based on an older Pennsylvania warrant prompted ICE agents to wait outside the courtroom. During a brief sidebar, defense attorney David Jellinek requested that his client be allowed to exit the courtroom “downstairs.” Court officer Wesley MacGregor later used a security key to open a rear door, allowing Medina-Perez to leave before ICE could take him into custody.
Federal prosecutors later indicted Judge Joseph and Officer MacGregor on obstruction-of-justice charges in 2019. Those charges were dismissed in 2022 after Joseph agreed to cooperate with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, which subsequently filed a complaint alleging five violations of judicial conduct.
Data & Statistics
- Annual salary for Judge Joseph as a Boston Municipal Court judge: $207,855 (state payroll records).
- The 2018 incident involved a single defendant (Medina-Perez) and one ICE agent.
- The SJC’s disciplinary record shows only five prior formal filings by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, with two resulting in public reprimand or censure.
Criticism & Opposition
No named critics or organized opposition offered substantive, attributable dissent regarding the reprimand in the available sources.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We are grateful to the hearing officer who undertook this monumental task and pleased that his efforts have shown that this was a baseless federal prosecution from the beginning and solely the work of the defense lawyer involved,” — Elizabeth Mulvey
What’s Next
Judge Joseph remains a Boston Municipal Court judge assigned to administrative duties. The state’s trial courts updated their policy on interactions with ICE agents in April 2024, directing court employees to neither impede nor assist federal immigration officials when they are present to take a person into custody. No further disciplinary actions have been announced.
