Massachusetts SJC Publicly Reprimands Judge Shelley Joseph Over 2018 ICE Courtroom Escape

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued Newton District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph a formal public reprimand on September 10, 2026, closing out an eight-year disciplinary case. The SJC found that during an April 2, 2018 hearing for defendant Oscar Manuel Peguero (also known as Jose Medina-Perez) — who had an outstanding ICE fugitive warrant and faced drug possession charges — Joseph had the waiting ICE officer removed from the courtroom and ordered the court's audio recording system turned off for roughly 52 seconds, 'creating an appearance of impropriety in violation of her duties.' The court did not find that she authorized or had prior knowledge of Peguero's subsequent escape through the courthouse's rear door, which allowed him to evade ICE custody. Federal obstruction of justice charges against Joseph were dropped in 2022 after she stipulated to knowing ICE was waiting and to holding an off-record discussion before Peguero's release. Joseph was suspended from judicial duties for more than three years during the proceedings and has since been reassigned to administrative work at the Boston Municipal Court; the reprimand carries no further penalty.