‘Willful judicial misconduct’: Punishment looms for ANOTHER judge who let an illegal alien escape

by | Apr 30, 2025 | Top Ten

Faces hearing where she could lose her $200,000-a-year job

By Bob Unruh

Judge Shelley Joseph

A possibly “brutal” punishment is looming for yet another judge accused of helping an illegal alien escape, according to a new report.

In just the past few days, an ex-judge in New Mexico and his wife were arrested for harboring illegal aliens, and a Wisconsin judge was suspended from her duties and arrested for enabling an illegal alien criminal to avoid arrest by waiting ICE agents.

Now a Daily Mail report reveals a hearing is scheduled for a Boston judge, being paid more than $200,000 a year by taxpayers, who is accused of letting “a twice-deported illegal immigrant slip out a side door of her courtroom to avoid ICE agents.”

The report said Shelley Joseph, being paid to be a Boston Municipal Court judge, is facing removal from the bench when a hearing is held on June 9 over the April 2018 stunt.


“She has been accused of allowing Jose Medina-Perez, an illegal immigrant originally from the Dominican Republic, walk out a back door of the Newton District Courthouse to avoid getting arrested by the ICE agents on duty,” the report said.

She was indicted by former U.S. Attorney Andrew Leiling, but those charges were dropped when she agreed to refer herself to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct and that organization, in a report called “scathing,” determined she committed “willful judicial misconduct.”

She further failed “to cooperate and be candidate and honest” with investigators.


The report said the hearing will be an opportunity for lawyers for the judge, and lawyers for the commission to present evidence to a hearing officer who has the authority to take away her job.

Medina-Perez was arrested for drug possession and being a fugitive from justice and went to a Newton District Court hearing on April 2, 2018. The commission found Joseph found out that ICE agents were on hand, and had a “civil immigration detainer” to take custody of the illegal alien.

“The defense attorney for Medina-Perez allegedly colluded with the trial court officer to let his client sneak out a ‘sally-port door’ in the lockup downstairs to avoid the ICE agents, the commissioners said,” according to the report.

Judge Shelley Joseph in 2018 (WBZ-TV video screenshot)
Judge Shelley Joseph in 2018

Part of the evidence is that Joseph ordered a clerk to shut down the courtroom recording system and she held an off-the-record discussion with the lawyers in the case.

On the record, she then granted a defense request to let Medina-Perez “go downstairs” to a lockup, but he fled through a sally-port door.

WND has reported on the two other judges caught in recent cases.

Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a warning.

“No one’s above the laws in this country,” she said. “And if you are destroying evidence, if you’re obstructing justice, when you have victims sitting in a courtroom of domestic violence and you’re escorting a criminal defendant out a back door, it will not be tolerated, and it is a crime in the United States of America. Doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to be prosecuted.”


The latest arrest was of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who was taken into custody by the FBI for allegedly hiding a previously deported illegal immigrant in her jury room in order to stop him from being arrested by ICE, and on Tuesday was relieved of her official duties.

Fox News reported Dugan was charged with obstruction.

In an interview on “American Reports,” Bondi explained how the Trump administration will handle judges who obstruct and block federal efforts to secure the border and remove illegal aliens.

“We are going to prosecute you, and we are prosecuting you. I found out about this the day it happened,” she said.

“We could not believe, actually, that a judge really did that. We looked into the facts in great depth… You cannot obstruct a criminal case. And really, shame on her. It was a domestic violence case of all cases, and she’s protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime.”

Dugan is accused of protecting illegal alien Eduardo Flores-Ruiz after his criminal court hearing before Dugan just days ago.

“Dugan demanded that the (federal) officers proceed to the chief judge’s office and – after his hearing ended – escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted jury door, bypassing the public area where agents were waiting in order to help him avoid arrest, per the complaint,” the report said.

Bondi pointed out then Flores-Ruiz fled on foot, creating a threat to the public.

The earlier arrests were of ex-New Mexico Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, and his wife, Nancy Cano.

They allegedly harbored suspected Tren de Aragua terror group member Cristhian Ortega-Lopez.

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