Overview

• Joseph appeared before the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct on Monday to face allegations that she helped an undocumented defendant slip past an ICE agent at Newton District Court in 2018.
• In December, the commission ruled that she engaged in willful judicial misconduct by instructing a clerk to delay an ICE officer and briefly turning off the courtroom audio recorder.
• Federal obstruction charges were dropped in 2022 after Joseph admitted certain facts and agreed to refer herself to the state commission under a Department of Justice arrangement.
• At the hearing, Joseph’s defense counsel stressed her lack of any criminal conviction and cross-examined the key witness, the defendant’s attorney who testified under an immunity agreement.
• Legal observers say the commission’s decision will influence how judges nationwide balance courtroom authority with federal immigration enforcement.