The highest court in Massachusetts says a judge charged with helping an immigrant escape a federal agent waiting to arrest him can be paid while her legal battle plays out.
The Supreme Judicial Court reversed course Tuesday and ruled that Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph can collect her annual salary of $181,000.
It also ordered her to receive back pay dating to late April.
Joseph has been suspended while she fights federal criminal charges for allegedly helping a man from the Dominican Republic slip out a back door of her courthouse while a federal immigration officer was waiting for him. She has pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice.
A former court officer also was charged.
The case has drawn national attention, with Joseph's lawyer denouncing her indictment as "absolutely political."
