This is a tale of two trials and two judges.

One trial took place and the other didn’t.

It is also a look at the rule of law and how justice is administered in a land where no one is above the law—except for those who are.

One judge is Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan.

She was found guilty last week on federal charges of obstructing justice by letting Eduardo Flores Ruiz, a wanted illegal immigrant, escape waiting ICE agents by letting him flee out the back door of the courthouse. She faces up to five years in prison.

The other judge is Massachusetts District Court Judge Shelley Joseph.

She too faced federal obstruction of justice charges in 2019 for also letting Jose Medina Perez, another wanted illegal immigrant, escape waiting ICE agents by letting him flee out of her Newton courthouse.

In both cases the judge kicked ICE agents out of the courtroom even though they had warrants for their arrests.

One judge is going to jail over it and the other is not.

Judge Joseph did not even go to trial.

That is because the charges against Joseph, a Democrat, were dropped in 2022 by the U.S. Justice Department after fellow Democrat Joe Biden was elected president.

They were set aside after the Biden Justice Department had Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha, a fellow Democrat, “review” the charges against Joseph.

In the country where no one is above the law, Cunha, as expected, recommended that, “in the interest of justice,” the charges be dropped.

Perhaps the charges were dropped because they had been brought by then-U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, a career Justice Department prosecutor who had been named to the post by Republican President Donald Trump.

Interestingly, the Lelling appointment had been supported by both Democrat Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Eddie Markey.

Upon Joseph’s indictment by a federal grand jury in 2019, Lelling said, “This case is about the rule of law. The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law, and that is a crime.”

In any event, Cunha recommended that Joseph’s case be sent to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct for whitewashing, which is what it got. The commission can only recommend a reprimand to the Supreme Judicial Court.

The commission appointed outside counsel Denis J. McInerney to hold a hearing. Like Cunha before him, McInerney found nothing to see here.

He reported that Judge Joseph, while a “thoughtful, diligent and conscientious” judge, was so new to her job that she did not know what was going on in her own courtroom. Joseph was named a judge in 2017 by Gov. Charlie Baker.

“I find that Judge Joseph did not know about—much less authorize—the escape plan and did not mislead court authorities following the incident,” he concluded.

That would leave only Wesley MacGregor, the court officer who allegedly escorted Perez out the backdoor, to blame. He was also indicted.

It would also have you believe that a veteran court officer like MacGregor would allegedly make such a move without orders from the judge. Not likely. Judges in court are kings.

Joseph, in violation of court regulations, turned off the courtroom audio recorder for 52 seconds before releasing Perez.

In Dugan’s case, there was recording of a court officer asking Dugan about showing the illegal immigrant and his lawyer the way to the back door of the courthouse. Said Dugan, “I’ll do it. I’ll get the heat.”

And she did.

Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@boston.herald.