Judge and Court Officer Charged with Obstruction of Justice for Aiding Fugitive Illegal Immigrant
By Beth Florkowski of Fausone & Grysko, PLC posted in Criminal Law on Monday, June 10, 2019.
In this day, it seems like every political issue is highly polarized. But elected officials and public servants should not let that influence their official decisions. That is a lesson one judge and court officer are learning the hard way now that they’re being charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly helping an illegal alien to escape the courtroom ahead of an ICE detainment.
According to an indictment against Massachusetts judge Shelley Joseph and court officer Wesley MacGregor, they conspired to allow an illegal immirant to escape out of a sally port door, despite being aware that an ICE agent was in the courtroom seeking to detain the illegal immigrant.
The Massachusetts branch of the ACLU slammed the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecuting the judge and court officer, saying the decision had “everything to do with enforcing the President’s anti-immigrant agenda.”
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, on the other hand, said, “We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law. Everyone in the justice system – not just judges, but law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and defense counsel – should be held to a higher standard.”