A federal court has thrown out a Boston judge’s contempt finding against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who detained a defendant in the middle of a criminal trial.
The ruling, which went unopposed by attorneys representing the state Trial Court, closes a chapter in a clash between federal and local authorities that saw Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden accuse ICE of harming public safety and US Attorney Leah Foley threaten Hayden with federal prosecution.
“In light of the response of the Trial Court of Massachusetts, there no longer exists a case or controversy between those parties and this case is dismissed without prejudice as moot,’’ US District Court Judge William G. Young wrote in an order last week.
Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville issued the contempt finding against ICE agent Brian Sullivan on March 31, as he conducted an inquiry into the circumstances of Wilson Martell-Lebron’s detention in the middle of his trial. The judge accused Sullivan of violating Martell-Lebron’s rights to due process and a fair trial, and referred the case to the Suffolk district attorney’s office for investigation and prosecution.
Jim Borghesani, chief of communications for the Suffok DA’s office, would not comment on the status of the investigation, but said Hayden stood by his criticism of ICE’s disruption of the trial.
“We’ve always considered this a side issue to our primary concern, as voiced by the DA, that ICE’s recent actions have made it more difficult for us to prosecute offenders and secure justice for victims,’’ Borghesani said in a statement.
Murat Erkan, one of Martell-Lebron’s attorneys, described the federal government’s conduct as “profoundly concerning.’’
“We are deeply troubled that ICE’s actions effectively disappeared Mr. Martell-Lebron, and that the United States Attorney’s Office compounded the harm by silencing any investigation into that disappearance,’’ he said.
Foley had argued that Summerville exceeded his authority when he placed Sullivan in contempt for arresting Martell-Lebron and then refusing to return him to court. Summerville’s actions were erroneous and unconstitutional, Foley’s office wrote in a motion to vacate the contempt finding.
“This damaging state intrusion into federal functions is the precise harm that the Supremacy Clause guards against,’’ the motion said.
Erkan said the Trial Court may have decided not to defend the contempt order because they agreed with Foley’s legal reasoning. But, he said, there is another, more troubling possibility.
“The context of it certainly suggests that the US Attorney’s Office’s effort to intimidate state actors against opposing ICE action was successful,’’ Erkan said.
Martell-Lebron was set to stand trial last month on a charge of providing false identification on a license application. Sullivan, listed as a prosecution witness, led a team of agents who arrested Martell-Lebron when he left the courthouse after his first day of trial. Summerville dismissed Martell-Lebron’s local charges after his detention.
In a press conference earlier this month, Hayden said he could not recall ICE ever interrupting an ongoing trial before — an assessment shared by legal analysts, who told the Globe that Martell-Lebron’s mid-trial detention was highly unusual.
“This action was troubling and extraordinarily reckless,’’ Hayden said.
In response, Foley wrote a letter to Hayden that appeared to threaten him with prosecution if his office pursued charges against Sullivan.
“Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful actions of federal government agents will not be tolerated,’’ Foley wrote, citing a federal law that targets anyone who “resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with’’ federal agents.
ICE has said that Martell-Lebron was actually a Dominican Republic national named Juan Carlos Baez who entered the country without authorization 25 years ago and has a record of drug trafficking convictions.
Dan Glaun can be reached at dan.glaun@globe.com.