State’s highest court reprimands housing court judge for conservative Facebook posts

The state’s highest court publicly reprimanded a housing court judge for making Facebook posts espousing conservative political views ahead of the 2020 election.

The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) found that Judge Joseph L. Michaud violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct by “engaging in judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute, that was prejudicial to the administration of justice, and that was unbecoming of a judicial officer.”

“Public confidence in the judiciary is undermined when a judge’s social media activity casts reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially, even if the judge is in fact impartial,” the SJC wrote in its reprimand.

Michaud could not be reached for comment by Boston.com on Monday, and The Boston Herald reported Friday that Michaud did not return a request for comment.

According to court documents, Michaud began repeatedly posting news articles from conservative news outlets such as Fox News and The New York Post, as well as conservative memes, on his Facebook page in October 2020. These articles and memes were often about alleged voter fraud, Hunter Biden, and alleged corruption within the Democratic Party.

Michaud would also often comment on the articles and memes and engage with others on his Facebook page about the issues brought up by the articles and memes.

The SJC said that such posts and comments were a problem because they could “create the appearance of bias based on gender, ethnicity, or immigration status.”

In its reprimand, the SJC said Michaud was under the mistaken impression that his posts were only being shared among his friends and not publicly on his Facebook page. Michaud has since deleted his Facebook account.

The SJC also said that Michaud undermined public confidence in the “independence, impartiality, and integrity” of the judiciary by violating several other parts of the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct. These violations include giving the impression that a person or organization could be influencing him, and publicly endorsing or opposing candidates for public office.

The Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct investigated the matter and recommended Michaud be publicly reprimanded for his actions. The SJC accepted the recommendation on Dec. 22, 2022, and the reprimand was made public on Feb. 10.

Michaud was appointed the housing court judge for the Metro South Division in 2018 by then-Gov. Charlie Baker. In 2010, he campaigned as a Republican to become the state representative for the Bristol County 9th District but was unsuccessful. He also previously served as a Dartmouth Select Board member and served on several town committees.

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