In an astounding display of judicial ineptitude, a Massachusetts judge, Shelley Joseph of the Boston Municipal Court, is under scrutiny for her alleged aid to a twice-deported illegal immigrant in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) back in 2018. This case has resurfaced six years after the initial federal charges were levied against her, and ironically, three years after these charges were dropped by the Biden administration, an action that now seems all the more puzzling.
Adding a bizarre edge to this tale is the contrasting approach of the Trump administration, which demonstrated swift action in arresting a Wisconsin judge for a similar offense merely a week after the incident. The discrepancy in these responses draws attention to the rather lax attitude the current Biden administration has shown towards judicial misconduct.
Joseph’s egregious misconduct involved aiding and abetting illegal immigrant Jose Medina-Perez as he sneaked out a side door in April 2018 to avoid ICE officers according to the Boston Herald report. Evidently, the wrong side of justice seemed to hold more appeal for this wayward judge, who was consequently charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice in 2018, charges initiated by then U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, a Trump appointee.
But lo and behold, the Biden Department of Justice, in an inexplicable act, agreed to drop these charges against Joseph in 2022 if she referred herself to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct. This signals the pathetic lowness to which the current administration is willing to stoop to absolve wrongdoing, even if it’s one of their own.
Perhaps most concerning is the lackadaisical response from the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct which took an inordinate two years to levy disciplinary charges against Joseph. It makes one wonder about the supposed impartiality of such commissions when it conveniently sidesteps an immediate and necessary response.
Contrasting Joseph’s lengthy reprieve, the Trump administration notably demonstrated swift action in tackling judicial misconduct, as seen in the immediate arrest of Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan. Dugan about equally breached her responsibility by facilitating an illegal immigrant’s escape from her courtroom.
According to charges documented in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Dugan allowed an illegal immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, to leave her court via a restricted exit, bypassing federal agents who had arrived to arrest him. In an audacious display, Dugan directed federal officers to the chief judge’s office and after the hearing ended, she personally guided Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out a restricted jury exit, ensuring his escape from arrest. This blatant disregard for the law is shockingly atrocious.
Adding to her shameful action, Dugan was immediately apprehended by the FBI only a week after her serious misconduct and was formally charged with federal crimes of felony obstruction of a federal agency and aiding a person to evade arrest – a misdemeanor. A thought-provoking divergence from the grace extended to Judge Joseph.
Currently, Dugan is prohibited from practicing her judicial obligations, a ban that will continue until further orders from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. An apt punishment for a justice who played fast and loose with the law, thinning the already blurry line between right and wrong.
Reacting to this scandalous incident, Attorney General Pam Bondi scathingly criticised Dugan’s conduct on Fox’s ‘America Reports.’ Expressing shock, she said ‘We could not believe that a judge really did that,’ exposing the depth of disdain for Dugan’s action.
Bondi rightly accused Dugan of obstructing a criminal case, and emphatically stated, ‘You cannot obstruct a criminal case.’ And in an undeniable and fierce rebuke, Bondi admonished Dugan with, ‘Really, shame on her.’ This epitomizes the harsh but necessary feedback required for such a morally compromised act from a judicial authority.
Even more, it was a domestic violence case Dugan obstructed, of all things. This shows a distorted protection offered to a criminal offender over the victims of the heinous crime – further underlining Dugan’s flawed judgment and misplaced priorities.
Sharing the shocking details, Bondi revealed that Flores-Ruiz was responsible for brutalizing two people, a male and a female, to the point where both victims required hospital care. These victims endured Flores-Ruiz’s horrific attack where the man was beaten and eventually choked, while the woman was subjected to such violence that required immediate medical attention.
The glaring contrast between the handling of these two judicial misconduct cases under the Trump and Biden administrations highlights a worrisome trend. Time will tell if necessary corrections will be made to ensure that those tasked with upholding justice are not the same ones to disregard it.
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