Last month, Trump-appointed federal judge Joshua Kindred resigned from the District of Alaska bench. The decision — coming just four years after his lifetime appointment — was motivated by a massive ethics scandal. According to the Special Committee appointed by the Ninth Circuit to investigate the complaints against the judge, Kindred engaged in sexual misconduct creating a sexualized relationship with one of his clerks and a hostile work environment for others. The report by the Special Committee also identified potential conflicts of interest with other attorneys who had business in his courtroom.
The scandal has led to a review by U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker’s office to see how many cases were potentially impacted by the undisclosed conflicts. As reported by Reuters, prosecutors have identified a total of 44 cases — so far — where an attorney with an undisclosed conflict may have appeared before Kindred. But don’t be surprised if that number grows even larger.
Jamie McGrady, the federal public defender, told Reuters in an email on Monday that she expected the number of cases with undisclosed conflicts to grow beyond 44 and that “our own review has revealed a much larger set of potential conflicts.”
McGrady’s office is slated to meet with other lawyers locally who serve as court-appointed attorneys to indigent defendants on Friday “to give them guidance on how to identify potential conflict cases.”
At least one defendant has already moved to have his conviction thrown out citing the judge’s misconduct.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
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