Suffolk County District Legal professional Kevin Hayden stated at this time that ICE would have seemingly returned a man on trial in Boston Municipal Courtroom after grabbing him had the choose within the case issued a warrant demanding his return, solely he did not.
In a ten-page report on the case of Wilson Martell-Lebron, on trial on costs he used solid paperwork to get a driver’s license in 2020, Hayden additionally stated he will not be bringing contempt costs towards one of many ICE brokers who snatched Martell-Lebron exterior Choose Mark Summerville’s courtroom, not as a result of he instantly agrees with the best way ICE is working, however as a result of the Structure’s Supremacy Clause, which prevents states from interfering with the operations of the federal authorities, and case legislation courting to 1819 would make the train pointless.
In truth, Hayden reiterated his feedback from earlier this month that what ICE did was unsuitable and known as on the Justice Division to analyze what occurred. However Summerville’s request to his workplace to think about bringing a contempt cost towards the agent is just “patently unlawful,” Hayden stated.
Hayden continued that Summerville himself is as a lot guilty for Martell-Lebron not being returned to trial as ICE – and stated he has appealed Summerville’s choice to dismiss the fees towards him.
Hayden wrote that after ICE brokers refused “casual” requests from prosecutors to return Martell-Lebron to court docket, they requested Summerville to problem a “writ of habeas corpus” to have Martell-Lebron introduced again to complete his trial, and that whereas the choose agreed to take action, he “inexplicably by no means issued” the precise doc wanted to current to ICE:
The Commonwealth gave discover to ICE that the Courtroom had granted its movement for a writ of habeas corpus. Choose Summerville despatched the jury house and instructed them to return Monday, March 31, 2025. …
On the morning of Monday, March 31, 2025, the Commonwealth as soon as once more requested for a writ of habeas corpus to problem to facilitate the defendant’s look and proceed the trial. Though the Chief Justice of the Trial Courtroom supplied clear directions concerning the process to safe the looks of an individual in ICE custody, Choose Summerville refused to problem any course of. Choose Summerville did so regardless of the Commonwealth’s illustration that Chief Counsel for ICE Ronald Seeley assured the Commonwealth that ICE would honor a correct writ of habeas corpus. Regardless of this, Choose Summerville reached the unsupported conclusion that “there was no credible proof that ICE would convey the defendant to court docket on any date” and completely excused the jury. In so doing, Choose Summerville successfully and with out justification ended the trial. At this level, although obligated by legislation to declare a mistrial, Choose Summerville refused to take action when requested.
As an alternative, Summerville agreed with a request by Martell-Lebron’s lawyer to dismiss the fees – and to seek out the ICE agent in contempt.
Choose Summerville particularly discovered [ICE} Officer Sullivan in contempt for “knowingly and intentionally preventing the defendant’s appearance at an ongoing jury trial.” This finding is based on a false premise. Though ICE officers took the defendant into custody on March 27, 2025, such an action, albeit misguided, was most likely legal under federal law. The failure to produce the defendant to continue the trial rests with Judge Summerville’s refusal to issue a writ of habeas corpus to secure his appearance. Had Judge Summerville simply followed the law and the procedures of the Chief Justice of the Trial Court, the trial could have continued after only a slight delay.
Aside from the clearly erroneous factual basis for Judge Summerville’s contempt order, he also ignored basic tenants of the Supremacy Clause in issuing his contempt order. Since McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819), the Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted the Supremacy Clause of U.S. Const. art. VI, as prohibiting States from interfering with or controlling the operations of the Federal Government. State criminal proceedings and federal immigration proceedings are separate and, pursuant to the Supremacy Clause, the Commonwealth has no authority to interfere with the latter. The Supremacy Clause immunizes federal officers from state prosecution, including contempt proceedings, for actions taken in the course of their official duties. …
As justification for his finding of contempt, Judge Summerville stated that he “did everything [he] may to get the defendant again within the Courtroom.” The document conclusively establishes, nonetheless, that Choose Summerville did nothing to safe the defendant’s presence. On the contrary, Choose Summerville actively prevented it the place he refused to problem a correct habeas writ regardless of the prosecutor’s representations that she had been knowledgeable by ICE that the habeas writ can be honored. Accordingly, there is no such thing as a factual, authorized, or constitutional foundation to prosecute Officer Sullivan for contempt.
As well as, Hayden once more denied Summerville’s cost that the “prosecution group” was in cahoots with ICE and even knew forward of time that ICE would attempt to seize the person. However even when prosecutors did know, he stated, there is no such thing as a authorized purpose for them to inform the choose:
Though its prosecutors didn’t know and had not anticipated that ICE would detain the defendant midtrial, Choose Summerville’s dedication that prosecutors had an obligation to tell the court docket of a possible ICE detention is with out authority. Choose Summerville didn’t cite, nor has the Commonwealth been capable of determine any authority for the choose’s acknowledged obligation. On the contrary, any obligation to tip off the court docket or anybody else to a federal ICE enforcement motion would definitely topic state prosecutors to federal prosecution.
Nonetheless, Hayden did agree with Summerville that ICE must cease with the nonsense of grabbing individuals in the course of trials:
Whereas there shall be circumstances the place exigent circumstances could necessitate the arrest of the goal of a federal enforcement motion, that was not the case right here. Officer Sullivan was concerned on this case for over a yr and appeared on a number of court docket dates with the defendant previous to March 28, 2025 however by no means detained him. We have no idea why ICE determined to take the unprecedent step of arresting the defendant midtrial, interfering with a state felony prosecution and stopping this workplace from holding the defendant accountable, but it surely definitely was to not shield the general public.
This interruption of a felony trial makes the general public much less protected. We’ve already seen how ICE’s conduct during the last a number of months has negatively impacted our circumstances, inhibited our makes an attempt to carry offenders accountable, and to maintain the residents of Suffolk County protected. Whereas the District Legal professional has no authorized authority over the perform of federal legislation enforcement, the US Legal professional does. If federal authorities are really considering defending the residents of Suffolk County and upholding the rule of legislation, they’ll act the place we can’t. We name on the Departments of Justice and Homeland Safety to conduct their very own inner investigation of this potential violation of ICE protocol and interference with this Workplace’s prosecution perform.
