According to the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit, Joshua Kindred resigned last week as a U.S. District Court Judge for Alaska after having an “inappropriately sexified relationship” with his law clerk, engaging in “unwanted sexual conduct” and lying about it to the Chief Judge.
The findings of the investigation are summed up in a 30-page court order signed by nine federal judge. The 30-page order is filled with sexual harassment details, vulgar remarks, and texts about Kindred’s sexual experiences and desires. The report also details Kindred’s efforts to lie and deny in response to complaints.
“We conclude that judge Kindred committed misconduct in creating a hostile working environment for his law assistants. The order states that the hostile work environment was characterized by ‘unwanted sexual conduct including sexual harassment’.
The majority of his alleged sexual misconduct was centered on a former law clerk who later became an assistant U.S. Attorney. Kindred had sexual contact with her twice after she started her new job, as a prosecutor in a court that brought cases to her. She claims that the second incident occurred in an Airbnb, where he was staying. He claims it was.
The judges’ order states that “the Council does not need to make a conclusion on whether or not the Airbnb incident was consented to in order for it be concluded that Judge Kindred has committed misconduct.”
Kindred has resigned voluntarily, as announced by the court last week. However, this does not mean that the investigation into Kindred’s behavior is over. The Federal Judicial Council sent the case to Judicial Conference for consideration of recommending his impeachment.
A formal impeachment must be approved by Congress. Only a few federal judges in U.S. History have been impeached and convicted by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Kindred has already quit his position, so it’s unclear what the consequences of an impeachment could be. However, he may not be able to hold a high office in the future.
Kindred was nominated to the bench by the then-President Donald Trump, who received the approval of the Alaska U.S. Senators for 2019.
Lisa Murkowski, a senator from Alaska, released a statement on Monday that called his resignation as “more than reasonable.”
She wrote: “Judges must be held to high standards, and Mr. Kindred did not meet them.” I will work quickly to submit a replacement candidate for consideration.
Kindred was sworn into office in early 2020. According to the order, in November 2022 the chief judge was informed of complaints made against him.
Kindred hasn’t publicly addressed the allegations, nor given a reason for his resigning.
Source: https://alaskapublic.org/2024/07/08/newly-resigned-federal-judge-is-accused-of-harassing-a-law-clerk-and-unwanted-offensive-and-abusive-sexual-conduct/