U.S. drops charges against Massachusetts judge accused of obstructing immigration arrest

BOSTON - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday said they had reached an agreement to drop criminal charges filed during the Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge accused of impeding a federal immigration arrest of a defendant in her courtroom.

Federal prosecutors said they had agreed to dismiss the obstruction charges filed against Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph in 2019 in exchange for the judge referring herself to a state commission tasked with investigating judicial misconduct.