He was credited with securing hundreds of millions of dollars for public schools in his district, and he was instrumental in the revitalization of the Neponset River and Blue Hills reservations.

"[5] In May 2006, Joyce traveled to Pakistan in support of Bush Administration's efforts to court the allied nation in the war on terror, where he talked foreign policy on state-run PTV, joining then Republican Representative Mark Martin of Arkansas and New Mexico Attorney General Hector H. Balderas on a top Pakistani talk show.

Joyce was under scrutiny for various ethical improprieties alleged by Boston Globe reporters, including having his campaign fund pay for his son's high school graduation party and accepting free or discounted services from a dry cleaner in Randolph, Massachusetts.

[16] In December 2017, Joyce was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he collected over $1 million in bribes and kickbacks that he laundered through his law office and another personal business.

[15][14] Prosecutors' attempt to disqualify Joyce's attorney was met with alarm by members of the Boston legal community, who viewed it as an unprecedented infringement on a defendant's Sixth Amendment rights.

[22][23] Joyce pleaded not guilty in December 2017 to charges including racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud, conspiracy and scheming to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

[24] The 102-page indictment accuses Joyce of turning his law office into a criminal enterprise, going so far as to accept hundreds of pounds of free coffee from a local Dunkin' Donuts owner.