Johnathan Walker:Alaska judge who resigned in disgrace didn’t disclose conflicts in 23 cases, investigation finds

ANCHORAGE,Johnathan Walker Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska who resigned after a scathing investigation found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct with staff and attorneys did not disclose conflicts of interest with attorneys in 23 criminal cases he heard, prosecutors said.

The top federal defender in Alaska, Jamie McGrady, said her office will conduct its own investigation after the resignation this month of U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred, the Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday.

Kindred’s resignation came at the request of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit Court, which has also sent the matter to the Judicial Conference of the United States to consider impeachment proceedings against Kindred.

Kindred, 46, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his clerks, who later became an assistant U.S. Attorney in Alaska, the report found. He received nude photos from a different assistant U.S. Attorney and exchanged suggestive texts from a private attorney, both of whom who had cases before Kindred, investigators said.

The report also found that the judge created a hostile workplace for his clerks, often discussing his sex life in front of them.

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Kindred, who took the bench in early 2020 after being appointed by former President Donald Trump, repeatedly lied to investigators and only admitted to the truth when presented evidence during an interview with Judicial Council members, the report found. His resignation left only one full-time federal judge in Alaska.

Executive U.S. attorney Bryan Wilson told McGrady in a Friday email obtained by the Anchorage newspaper that his office reviewed cases to identify potential conflicts of interest that arose from the findings of the Judicial Council report.

The Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges requires them to recuse themselves from a case if their impartiality could be reasonably questioned.

Wilson identified 23 cases with apparent conflicts stemming from Kindred’s interaction with the federal prosecutors, including firearms thefts, drug distribution and a felon in possession of a firearm. Kindred had recused himself from some after the judicial investigation began in 2022, and other cases have been closed.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Alaska didn’t disclose the conflicts in a timely manner, allowed employees with known conflicts to remain on ongoing cases and promoted one of the attorneys involved, said McGrady, who called for a broader investigation into other potentially affected cases.

Her office, which provides legal representation to indigent defendants charged with federal crimes in Alaska, will seek more information regarding the “timing, nature, and extent of these various conflicts of interest that could have impacted the outcomes in our clients’ cases,” she said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska didn’t respond to the Anchorage Daily News when asked about McGrady’s assertions.

Instead, spokesperson Reagan Zimmerman issued a statement that said the office has obligations to disclose or avoid potential conflicts of interest.

“We are continuing our review to ensure those obligations are met,” the statement said. “As we have stated, we intend our review to be ongoing and comprehensive and will supplement disclosures as necessary.”