Alaska attorney Joshua Kindred speaks during the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee judicial nomination hearing in Washington, U.S., December 4, 2019.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee/Reuters
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U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee/Reuters
A federal judge in Alaska resigned this week after investigators concluded he created a hostile work environment by sending vulgar messages to employees, having sexual contact with a former legal clerk and lying to colleagues about the relationship. .
Joshua Kindred, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump and served only four years on the bench, did not provide a reason for leaving the tenured position in his resignation letter.
But his move came after the ninth Judiciary Committee meeting.th The Circuit Court found that he repeatedly lied and breached a code requiring judges to maintain high standards of conduct and “always conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary”.
Investigators interviewed 21 witnesses, including nearly all of his current and former paralegals, and 700 pages of briefs. Their report cited a passage in which the judge told legal clerks, “Whoever is talking nonsense about ethics issues, we need to make you pay.” In another case, he considered assaulting multiple Supreme Court justices with a Patrons, heroin and whips come to his office for a party.
“Judge Kindred’s conduct demonstrates, to a large extent, that he was completely unaware that his conduct was problematic, which resulted in at least three judges being judged at different points in time,” the Judiciary Committee wrote in a 30-page order. Suffering in silence “Even at this moment, the committee does not believe Judge Kindred fully understood the seriousness of his actions. “
The Justice Department is currently considering next steps, including whether to refer Kindred to Congress for possible impeachment. In effect, it could prevent him from holding future federal elected office or holding other positions in the federal government.
In written responses to investigators, the judge said he “failed to exercise appropriate boundaries and crossed boundaries that I should not have crossed, particularly as it was consistent with my viewing employees as friends and subjecting me to personal and professional struggles.” Become a conversation about the general trend of topics. “
Kindred also said he was not the “violent” in two sexual encounters with a former staffer in October 2022. Hips. The second time she walked into the judge’s temporary apartment, he grabbed her. “I just remember thinking, there’s nothing I can do about this, like this is going to happen,” the clerk told investigators.
Mary Murguia, Chief Judge of the Ninth U.S. Court of Appealsth The circuit court said courts take misconduct allegations seriously.
“The judiciary is vested with autonomy, and to that end, federal judges must be held to the highest standards of integrity and impartiality,” she said in a written statement. “This is a serious and sensitive issue in every sense of the word. “
In a statement to NPR, a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the Courts said the Justice Department has “robust systems in place to effectively respond to misconduct in the workplace. In recent years, the department has taken steps to further ensure that legal staff and attorneys respond through enhanced corrections Procedures for misconduct and enhanced accountability, where other members of the judiciary are treated with dignity and respect.
Proponents of law clerkships stress that there is a clear power differential between clerks (often new law school graduates) and judges, whose advice can determine their careers.
Olivia Warren, a North Carolina criminal defense attorney with Thomas, Ferguson & Beskind who whistle-blowed another federal judge several years ago, said the system Not enough was done to protect staff.
“I think this is another day of shame, shame, shame for the Justice Department,” Warren said. “There’s nothing in this report in terms of the mechanisms by which the Justice Department says they’re reporting and the changes they’re making are working. Shows that legal staff did make the report.”
In fact, the initial message to the chief judge does not appear to have come from one of Kindred’s law clerks. Staff members “suffered in silence” and expressed great reluctance to cooperate with investigators, the report said. It’s unclear whether the judge continues to oversee his staff during the lengthy investigation or whether the Justice Department has taken any action to help them.
“While I am pleased that the federal judiciary is taking this issue seriously in this case, I am appalled that this misconduct was allowed to continue for so long,” said Alyssa Shah, who launched the Legal Accountability Project to share information. Aliza Shatzman said she spoke about the judge in question after a bad experience she had as a paralegal.
Deeva Shah, another clerk’s rights advocate, said there had been too much focus on “minutiae” since the major scandal seven years ago, including changes the judiciary had made to complaints procedures. But there are still no uniform standards for reporting abuse across the country, and no clear rules. Instead, each judicial branch or region has its own system and governs itself.
“People are reluctant to report,” said Shah, an attorney with the law firm Keck, Van Nest & Peters. “This is the tone that runs throughout the entire order. Small changes to the process are not enough here.
Millions of people who experience harassment at work enjoy workplace protections, whether they report it to private companies, nonprofits, or even the U.S. Congress. But for the approximately 30,000 people who work in the federal judiciary, that’s not the case. This branch of government is largely exempt from civil rights laws that protect workers and job applicants from discrimination.
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., has been urging the Justice Department to do more to protect workers. Torres said Judge Kindred took comfort in an atmosphere that rewarded silence and fear.
“The judiciary must embrace transparency and always publish these decisions and publish the data in their protocols to prevent workplace misconduct,” Torres said in a written statement. “In Congress, I will continue to use every tool at my disposal , including the power of the purse, to protect judicial employees and increase transparency in the judiciary.”
Have you been harassed or bullied by a federal judge, or do you know someone who has been? We want to hear about your experiences. Your name will not be used without your consent and you can remain anonymous. Please contact NPR via: click this link.
