Suffolk County prosecutors accused Wilson Martell-Lebron, 52, of providing false information on a driver’s license application. Like any other defendant, he deserved a fair trial — and, if convicted, the appropriate punishment for his crime.
But he didn’t get either — because of a bizarre move by federal immigration officials that drew a scathing rebuke from Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville and revealed a gap in training for police and prosecutors that needs to be fixed promptly.
At the end of the first day of his trial, March 31, ICE agents arrested Martell-Lebron, a Dominican immigrant, outside the courtroom. With the defendant unable to attend his own trial, Summerville then dismissed the case — and issued a contempt finding against the arresting federal agent.
The case raises two questions: First, what consequences, if any, will federal officials face for disrupting the justice system, and, second, whether police and prosecutors fully understand the rules that govern their own interactions with ICE.
But beyond that, this case and the spate of recent ICE detentions raise serious issues about the chilling effect such incidents will have on witnesses to and victims of crimes who are immigrants.
For short-circuiting the trial, Summerville accused ICE agent Brian Sullivan of “intentional and egregious violations of the defendant’s rights,” and referred the case to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office for possible prosecution.
Within days, though, US Attorney Leah B. Foley was arguing in a federal court filing to dismiss the contempt charges, insisting, “This damaging state intrusion into federal functions is the precise harm that the Supremacy Clause guards against,” and that Summerville “lacked authority to issue that patently unlawful and erroneous order.”
However that David vs. Goliath battle turns out, the case also raises questions about what Martell-Lebron’s prosecutors may have known about the arrest before it happened and whether their communications with ICE crossed any ethical lines.
At a hearing called by Summerville the day after Martell-Lebron’s arrest, State Police Trooper David Dumont told the judge that during a lunch break on the first day of the trial, Sullivan told the troopers and the two assistant district attorneys on the case of the pending arrest. One of the prosecutors later testified that much was true, but the ICE agent didn’t say when and he assumed it would be at the end of trial.
Summerville concluded that the ADAs “attempted as best they could to do the right thing in this case,” but added, “It’s clear to me they did not receive the proper ethics training.”
Legally, both the state police and prosecutors are between the proverbial rock and a hard place. They cannot help ICE, but neither can they hinder its operations.
It’s a policy in keeping with a 2017 Supreme Judicial Court ruling in the so-called Lunn case that found “Massachusetts law provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer.” That case, in fact, also arose in Boston Municipal Court.
While it may be a difficult tightrope to walk, unless and until the Legislature changes the law, prosecutors and law enforcement have to avoid communications that could give rise to the impression they’re colluding with ICE.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden defended his office against the judge’s rebuke saying at a news conference, “All of our actions, in this case, clearly demonstrated our intent to hold Mr. Martell-Lebron accountable, and none of our actions demonstrated any collusion with ICE to deprive him of the right to a trial.
“My office’s responsibility is to hold defendants accountable, secure justice for victims, witnesses, and the greater community, and to work with our law enforcement partners and the community to reduce crime and ensure public safety,” Hayden said. “We cannot and will not tolerate ICE hindering our ability to pursue those vital public safety goals.”
And that is the real danger here. What if this had been a rape trial? Where would the justice be for the victim? And what if that victim had also been here illegally and subject to detention and deportation?
“I’ve watched ICE’s actions over the last few months, and I have concerns that those actions are harming our public safety goals,” Hayden said. “We’re now finding witnesses reluctant to cooperate with investigators due to fear of ICE. This harms public safety. We are seeing victims refuse to provide information about crimes against them due to fear of ICE. This harms public safety.”
Interference by ICE with a state criminal proceeding doesn’t make Massachusetts one whit safer. If this is what President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan meant when he promised to come to Boston and “bring hell” with him, well, he has succeeded only in denying this community the ability to see justice done in its courts. And that makes us all a little less safe.
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