A federal appeals court has refused to dismiss a case in which a Massachusetts state court judge allegedly arranged for the escape of an undocumented immigrant who previously was twice deported and was suspected of narcotics possession and drunk driving.
A three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, of Newton, MA, and her then clerk, Wesley MacGregor, must face trial for allegedly conspiring on April 2, 2019 to release the prisoner, who was appearing before Judge Joseph to be arraigned.
Judge Joseph and MacGregor allegedly turned off the courtroom recorder in violating of courthouse rules, and devised a ruse that the prisoner would go to a basement lockup to retrieve some property and then exit the courthouse. MacGregor allegedly used his access card to swipe the prisoner out the back door of the courthouse (and then allegedly lied about accidentally turning off the courtroom recorder.)
Continue reading “Judge Must Face Trial For Allegedly Obstructing Deportation”