A Boston Municipal Court judge dismissed a criminal case after the defendant, William Martell Lebron, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the middle of his trial. The judge also found an ICE agent guilty of contempt of court, denouncing interference with the judicial process. The magistrate ordered that the defendant be returned to court by Monday to continue his trial.
Martell Lebron, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was on trial for providing false information in a driver’s license application. His trial began last Thursday, but as he left the courthouse, he was apprehended by federal ICE agents, according to NBC News.
In response to this unexpected arrest, Judge Mark Summerville held an emergency hearing the following day. He ordered ICE to return the defendant to court so the trial could continue, a directive that was not immediately followed by federal authorities.
On Monday, defense attorney Murat Erkan denounced the interference with justice, suggesting possible coordination between the state and ICE to deport his client. He also criticized prosecutors for failing to inform the defense of the imminent arrest, according to CBS News.
For its part, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office expressed outrage over ICE’s intervention. “We were shocked and dismayed when our prosecution of William Martell Lebron was interrupted by ICE in the middle of the trial,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said. The office stated that it immediately contacted ICE to request the defendant’s return to court and officially filed a request to that effect on Monday morning. The DA’s office also denied any prior knowledge of an attempt to prevent Martell Lebron from receiving a fair trial: “Any claim that we were aware of an effort to block Mr. Martell Lebron’s right to a trial is false.”
This case raises concerns about federal authorities interfering in ongoing trials, particularly regarding immigration policies. According to U.S. immigration officials, William Martell Lebron is a Dominican national using a false identity, which they claim justifies his arrest.
Judge Summerville, believing that this intervention undermined the trial, took the drastic step of dismissing the case and sanctioning the federal agent involved.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the federal government, through ICE, has been aggressively arresting immigrants with pending legal cases. Many detainees are deported from the United States before courts have the chance to rule on their cases. This practice has frustrated judges handling these matters, who have often resorted to threats of sanctions against immigration agents and government attorneys.
