La Procura Federale incrimina un giudice liberal per ‘conspiracy and obstruction’.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela

2019-04-26.

Sono oltre due decenni che i giudici di nomina liberal usano la carica che ricoprono per perseguire azioni politiche in contrasto con le leggi vigenti e la costituzione degli Stati Uniti.

Spesso la Suprema Corte ha definito le loro sentenze come ‘stravaganti‘, ma altrettanto spesso esse configurano veri e propri reati. Reati che non potevano essere perseguiti perché i tribunali di competenza erano retti da altrettanti giudici liberal.

Incriminare sotto queste condizioni un giudice richiede molto coraggio personale a causa delle inevitabili controreazioni: ed è la prima volta che accade da più di un secolo.

Sicuramente alla fine degli iter giudiziari il caso approderà alla Suprema Corte, che quindi dirà l’ultima parola in merito.

Di certo però, da oggi gli spigliati liberal democratici che ricoprono l’incarico di giudice dovranno essere ben più cauti nell’emettere sentenze e provvedimenti, perché si è inaugurata l’epoca in cui gli abusi si pagano i prima persona.

Qui non è problema di Trump oppure non Trump: è il ballo il rule of law, lo stato di diritto, e la credibilità ed onorabilità del sistema giudiziario americano.

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Reuters riporta così la notizia:

Massachusetts judge faces federal charges for blocking immigration arrest

«U.S. federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a Massachusetts judge and court officer with conspiracy and obstruction, saying they blocked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer from arresting an illegal immigrant at a 2018 court proceeding. The move marks the latest skirmish over immigration between President Donald Trump’s administration and local governments who have resisted his crackdown. The state’s Democratic attorney general called the charges “politically motivated.”

The charges target Massachusetts District Court Judge Shelley Joseph, 51, and Massachusetts Trial Court Officer Wesley MacGregor, 56.

They focus on an April 2018 hearing in Newton District Court, outside Boston, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer intended to arrest an unidentified suspected illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic facing a drug charge. ….»

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«United States Attorney Andrew Lelling of Massachusetts said a state judge intentionally interfered with the enforcement of federal law by helping an immigrant evade an ICE officer»

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«Federal prosecutors charged a state judge and a former court officer in Massachusetts with obstruction of justice on Thursday for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant escape from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer at a courthouse last year»

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«The indictment of the judge, Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, 51, and the officer, Wesley MacGregor, 56, was a dramatic turn in the long-running clash between the Trump administration and state governments that have resisted its hard-line approach to immigration»

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«Prosecutors accused Judge Joseph and Mr. MacGregor of letting their beliefs trump federal immigration law when they allegedly helped the man, who was not named in the indictment, sneak out of Newton District Courthouse in Newton, Mass., in March 2018»

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«The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law, and that is a crime, …. We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law»

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«If convicted, the judge could face up to 25 years in prison and Mr. MacGregor could face up to 30 years, prosecutors said.»

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Si deve ammettere come sia finita un’epoca.

L’accusa che il giudice Joseph e il sig. MacGregor abbiano volutamente e scientemente operato perché le loro convinzioni politiche prevalessero sulla legge federale in una cospirazione potrebbe costare 25 anni di carcere al giudice e 30 anni di carcere all’impiegato.

Bene.

Da oggi i giudici liberal sanno che pagheranno di persona ogni abuso compiuto.

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Bbc. 2019-04-26. US judge charged with aiding undocumented immigrant in escape

A Massachusetts judge and court officer have been charged for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant dodge immigration officials and escape court.

The two allegedly allowed the man to exit through a courthouse back door while an immigration officer waited outside to arrest him.

Boston-area judge Shelley Joseph and Wesley MacGregor have been charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

The man was in court on drug charges and for being a fugitive from justice.

In their first court appearance on 25 April, both Judge Joseph, 51, and Mr MacGregor, 46, pleaded not guilty and were released.

According to court documents, an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) attended an April 2018 hearing for the man in a Newton, Massachusetts district court with the intention of apprehending him.

The suspect, unidentified in court documents, was named Jose Medina-Perez, according to local media.

The Dominican Republic native had reportedly been deported from the US twice, in 2003 and 2007, the Boston Globe reported.

Court documents cite an order, issued upon his second removal, that prohibits Mr Medina-Perez from entering the US until 2027, according to the newspaper.

The suspect’s lawyer allegedly told Judge Joseph he thought that Ice had the wrong man.

The indictment describes a subsequent conversation, captured by the court recorder, between Judge Joseph and the lawyer regarding his client’s pending arrest.

“Ice is gonna get him?” she allegedly asked, adding “I’m not gonna allow them to come in here.”

Prosecutors say Judge Joseph then arranged for Mr Medina-Perez to exit through a rear door as the Ice agent waited for the suspect in the lobby of the courthouse.

Judge Joseph and Mr MacGregor were both charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and two counts of obstruction of justice. Mr MacGregor was also charged with perjury.

The judge has been suspended without pay by the state Supreme Judicial Court judicial. Mr MacGregor recently retired from his position as court officer last month.

US Attorney Andrew Lelling, the top federal prosecutor in the state, said the charges were not meant as a political statement.

“This case is about the rule of law,” Mr Lelling said.

“The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law and that is a crime.”

But the charges were met with almost instant rebuke from state attorney general Maura Healey, who called the indictment a “radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of the court.”

The Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union called the case “preposterous, ironic, and deeply damaging to the rule of law”.

“This decision seems to have little to do with the actual facts, and everything to do with enforcing the president’s anti-immigrant agenda.”

The charged rhetoric underscores mounting tensions over President Donald Trump’s administration and its immigration crackdown.

Last month, US officials said the US-Mexico border was at a “breaking point” amid an “unprecedented” surge in migrant numbers.

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The New York Times. 2019-04-26. U.S. Charges Judge With Helping Immigrant Escape ICE at Courthouse

United States Attorney Andrew Lelling of Massachusetts said a state judge intentionally interfered with the enforcement of federal law by helping an immigrant evade an ICE officer.

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Federal prosecutors charged a state judge and a former court officer in Massachusetts with obstruction of justice on Thursday for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant escape from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer at a courthouse last year.

The indictment of the judge, Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, 51, and the officer, Wesley MacGregor, 56, was a dramatic turn in the long-running clash between the Trump administration and state governments that have resisted its hard-line approach to immigration.

Prosecutors accused Judge Joseph and Mr. MacGregor of letting their beliefs trump federal immigration law when they allegedly helped the man, who was not named in the indictment, sneak out of Newton District Courthouse in Newton, Mass., in March 2018. The judge ordered the man to go to a basement facility, where he was let out a back door, rather than into the lobby, where she knew that an ICE officer was waiting for him, prosecutors say.

“The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law, and that is a crime,” United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement. “We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law.”

Attorney General Maura Healey of Massachusetts sharply criticized the charges.

“Today’s indictment is a radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of our courts,” Ms. Healey, a Democrat, said in a statement. “It is a bedrock principle of our constitutional system that federal prosecutors should not recklessly interfere with the operation of state courts and their administration of justice.”

Judge Joseph and Mr. MacGregor were each charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice, prosecutors said. Mr. MacGregor was also charged with perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury about the episode.

Both pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press, which said the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had suspended Judge Joseph without pay.

If convicted, the judge could face up to 25 years in prison and Mr. MacGregor could face up to 30 years, prosecutors said. They could each also face a fine of $250,000.

Tom Hoopes, a lawyer for Judge Joseph, said in an email that she was “absolutely innocent.”

“This case is absolutely political,” he wrote.

Mr. MacGregor’s lawyer, Scott Lauer, called the indictment “federal immigration enforcement run amok” and said the allegations were “factually wrong and legally questionable.”

Matthew Segal, the legal director for the A.C.L.U. of Massachusetts, said the indictment flew in the face of the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct, which says judges and court personnel have an obligation to ensure that people coming before them, including people who are not citizens, can be heard.

Mr. Segal said the prosecution would also be complicated by a 2017 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision, Lunn v. Commonwealth, that ruled state law enforcement officers do not have the authority to arrest someone based on an order from ICE.

“The government will have a real uphill climb on some of the elements of this case,” Mr. Segal said. “I don’t think it would be permissible for a Massachusetts judge to assist ICE or to have a court security officer assist ICE in apprehending someone who is coming to a Massachusetts court to be heard.”

Prosecutors said the immigrant was arrested by Newton Police on March 30, 2018, and charged with drug possession and being a fugitive from Pennsylvania.

A national law enforcement database matched his fingerprints with someone who was deported from the United States twice, in 2003 and 2007, and subsequently banned from the country until 2027.

ICE learned of his arrest and issued a federal immigration detainer that asked local law enforcement to hold him for 48 hours until ICE could take him into custody.

The police transferred him to the courthouse, where prosecutors said the probation office was aware of the detainer, as were the man’s defense lawyer, David Jellinek, and a prosecutor who was not named in the indictment.

An ICE officer went to the courthouse on April 2 to observe the man’s hearing and detain him if he were released. According to the indictment, the judge instructed the clerk to tell the officer to leave the courtroom and wait outside. He was told the man would leave through the lobby if he were released.

A courtroom recording device picked up a conversation between the judge and others in the courtroom, a partial transcript of which was included in the indictment. It showed them uneasy with the presence of the ICE officer.

Mr. Jellinek and the prosecutor said they agreed that the man in custody was not the fugitive from Pennsylvania. And Mr. Jellinek said his client denied being wanted by ICE.

“ICE is going to pick him up if he walks out the front door,” Mr. Jellinek said. “But I think the best thing for us to do is to clear the fugitive issue, release him on a personal, and hope that he can avoid ICE.… That’s the best I can do.”

The judge said she could order him held for another day “if you need more time to figure this out.”

The prosecutor then brought up the ICE detainer. “I feel like that’s separate and apart from what my role is,” the prosecutor said.

“ICE is going to get him?” the judge asked. She then ordered the recorder to be turned off, which the indictment said was in violation of Massachusetts court rules.

When the recorder was turned back on 52 seconds later, the fugitive charge was dismissed and the man was ordered released.

But instead of sending him to the lobby, the judge ordered him to go to the basement lockup facility, where Mr. MacGregor let him out through a back door, the indictment said.

Meanwhile, the courtroom recorder continued to roll upstairs.

“There was a representative from, uh, ICE here in the court,” the clerk told the judge. “To visit the lockup.”

“That’s fine,” Judge Joseph replied. “I’m not going to allow them to come in here. But he’s been released on this.”