Welsh Arraignment Rescheduled For June

ORLEANS – The arraignment of an Orleans District Court judge on charges of assault and battery has been rescheduled to June.

First Justice Robert A. Welsh III will be arraigned in Brighton Municipal Court June 11, a court representative said Monday. He was initially scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, May 19. 

Welsh is being charged with assault and battery on a household or family member and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person aged 60 or older. Court documents in the matter have been impounded until noon on May 19.

 Welsh was first appointed to the bench in Orleans by then-Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006. He is the fourth judge in his family to serve in Orleans, following his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. 

Prior to becoming a judge, Welsh spent 14 years as a prosecutor with the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office. Danielle Whitney, spokesperson for Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois, said that the case has been moved to Brighton due to a conflict of interest.

 Erika Gully-Santiago, a spokesperson for the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, said that Welsh was placed on leave May 11.

 “He is not hearing cases while the matter is pending,” she said. “He is being paid. His administrative duties are not in Orleans.” She did not elaborate on what Welsh’s “administrative duties” are.

The Brighton Muncipal Court clerk's office said Friday that "the police report and associated charging documents have been impounded per order of the Court."

Attempts to reach Welsh’s attorney, Daniel O’Malley, have been unsuccessful.

 This is a developing story.