Some pretty terrible stuff happened in the courtroom of Trump-appointed federal judge Joshua Kindred. Following a massive ethics scandal, he resigned from the District of Alaska bench, just four years after beginning his lifetime appointment. 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 — specifically noting an Assistant United States Attorney “with whom he had a flirtatious rapport” (later identified as Karen Vandergaw) sent Kindred nude photographs. The ramifications on the justice system are still being assessed.
But there’s even more wildness coming out.
Bloomberg Law is reporting allegations that a prosecutor strategically assigned Vandergaw to cases in order to trigger a Kinded recusal. In 2023, the Alaska federal defender’s office noted that in cases where Vandergaw appeared, Kindred would recuse himself or the case was reassigned — though they didn’t know why that was. When Vandergaw entered an appearance in a murder case against defendant Matthew Moi, folks questioned what was up.
Gary Colbath, the Alaska federal defender’s office No. 2, said he confronted the lead prosecutor on the case about his suspicions of improper maneuvering and warned he planned to accuse the office of misconduct in a motion to dismiss. Kindred had a reputation for being more lenient toward criminal defendants.
“There was no reason that she noticed an appearance, in our eyes, other than as a strategic attempt to cause Kindred’s recusal,” Colbath said in an interview.
The following business day after Colbath said he raised concerns, Vandergaw was withdrawn from the prosecution team without explanation, court records show.
Now if prosecutors deliberately had Vandergaw enter an appearance in the controversial case in order to game the system and draw a more favorable jurist, that’s a terrible look. Though there are less machiavellian explanations.
It’s possible that Vandergaw’s addition to the case may have been negligence or a failure by the office to conduct proper ethical reviews, said Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former California federal judge.
“You have three buckets this could fall in: It’s negligent, it’s reckless, or it’s intentional,” Fogel said. “It’s not okay under any circumstance” for a conflicted prosecutor to be added to a docket, Fogel said. “But the question is, how culpable are they?”
You certainly hope the scheming in the Alaska courthouse didn’t rise to the nefarious level. But given the absolute mess Kindred left in his wake, both the U.S. Attorney’s and federal defender’s offices are conducting reviews to see how many cases have been impacted.
Earlier: You Knew There Had To Be A Terrible Reason Why A Trump Judge Suddenly Resigned
Prosecutor Demoted After Sending Judge Nude Photos
After Trump-Appointed Judge Resigned In Disgrace, 40+ Cases Potentially Impacted
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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