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Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused a judge and a former Massachusetts judicial officer of obstructing justice for helping an undocumented immigrant escape from an immigration and immigration officer. Customs in a courthouse last year.
The indictment of Judge Shelley, 51-year-old Richmond Joseph and 56-year-old Wesley MacGregor marks a dramatic turning point in the long struggle between the Trump administration and the state governments. resisted his uncompromising approach to immigration. .
Prosecutors accused Judge Joseph and Mr. MacGregor of allowing their beliefs to override the federal immigration law, while they would have helped the man, not named in the indictment, to sneak out of the courthouse of the district of Newton, Massachusetts, in March 2018. The judge ordered the man to go into a sub -sol, where he was left by a back door, rather than in the lobby, where she knew that an ICE agent was waiting for him, according to the prosecutors.
"The allegations contained in the indictment of today imply the obstruction of a sitting judge, an intentional interference in the application of the law. federal, and it's a crime, "said US lawyer E. Lelling in a statement. "We can not choose the federal laws we follow, nor use our personal opinions to justify a violation of the law."
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey strongly criticized the charges.
"The indictment today is a radical and political attack on our state and the independence of our courts," said Healey, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Our fundamental constitutional principle is that federal prosecutors must not imprudently interfere in the functioning of state courts and their administration of justice."
Judge Joseph and Mr. MacGregor have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruct justice, prosecutors said. Mr. MacGregor was also charged with perjury for allegedly lied to a grand jury about the episode.
The two lawyers pleaded not guilty, according to the Associated Press, which said the Massachusetts Supreme Court had suspended Judge Joseph without pay.
If convicted, the judge could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and Mr. MacGregor to 30 years, prosecutors said. Each of them could also be fined $ 250,000.
Tom Hoopes, Judge Joseph's lawyer, said in an email that she was "absolutely innocent."
"This case is absolutely political," he wrote.
MacGregor's lawyer, Scott Lauer, called the indictment "federal immigration law enforcement" and said the allegations were "factually false and legally dubious".
Matthew Segal, Legal Director of A.C.L.U. of Massachusetts, stated that the indictment went against the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct, according to which judges and court staff have an obligation to ensure that that people who come before them, including non-citizens, can be heard.
Segal said the lawsuits would also be complicated by a decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2017, Lunn v. Commonwealth, which ruled that state law enforcement officers do not have the power to arrest someone under an ICE order.
"The government will have a real uphill climb on some of the elements of this case," said Segal. "I do not think it would be permissible for a Massachusetts judge to assist ICE or that a court security officer will assist ICE in his arrest to apprehend someone who goes to a Massachusetts court to be heard. "
Prosecutors said the immigrant had been arrested by the Newton police on March 30, 2018 and charged with possession of drugs and being a fugitive from Pennsylvania.
A national law enforcement database matched his fingerprints with a person who had been deported from the United States twice, in 2003 and 2007, and then banished from the country to the United States. 2027.
ICE learned of his arrest and released a federal immigration detainee who had asked local law enforcement to detain him for 48 hours, the time of his arrest.
The police transferred him to the courthouse, where prosecutors said that the probation office knew the detainee, as well as the attorney's lawyer, David Jellinek, and a prosecutor who n & # 39; 39, was not named in the indictment.
On April 2, an ICE officer went to the courthouse to observe the man's hearing and detain him if he was released. According to the indictment, the judge asked the clerk to tell him to leave the courtroom and wait outside. He was told that the man would leave the hall if he was released.
A recording device in the courtroom recorded a conversation between the judge and others in the courtroom, a partial transcript of which was included in the indictment. This showed them worried about the presence of the ICE agent.
Mr. Jellinek and the prosecutor stated that they agreed that the man in custody was not the fugitive from Pennsylvania. And Mr. Jellinek stated that his client had denied having been wanted by ICE.
"ICE will pick him up when he passes the gate," said Jellinek. "But I think the best thing to do is get rid of the fugitives problem, let them go on their own and hope they can avoid ICE, that's the best I can do."
The judge said that she could order her detention for another day "if you need more time to understand that".
The prosecutor then referred to the ICE detainee. "I have the impression that it is distinct from my role," said the prosecutor.
"ICE will get it?" Asked the judge. She then ordered to turn off the recorder, which, according to the indictment, violated the rules of the Massachusetts court.
When the recorder was relighted 52 seconds later, the charge was withdrawn and the man was released.
But instead of sending him to the lobby, the judge ordered him to go to the basement detention center, where Mr. MacGregor let him out through a back door, the indictment said.
Meanwhile, the recorder continued to roll.
"There was a representative of, uh, ICE here in the yard," the clerk told the judge. "To visit the lock-up."
"It's good," said Judge Joseph. "I will not allow them to come here. But he was released for that.
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