Just
over
a
year
ago,
former
Trump-appointed
federal
judge
Joshua
Kindred
suddenly resigned
from
the
District
of
Alaska
bench,
only
four
years
into
his
lifetime
appointment.
Pretty
quickly,
it
was
obvious
there
were
shocking
allegations
against
the
jurist.
According
to
the
Special
Committee
appointed
by
the
Ninth
Circuit
to
investigate
ethics
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
specifically
noted
an
Assistant
United
States
Attorney
“with
whom
he
had
a
flirtatious
rapport”
sent
Kindred
nude
photographs
(later
identified
as
Karen
Vandergaw,
who
says
she
was
pressured
into
sending
the
judge
the
explicit
photos),
and
she
continued
to
appear
before
Kindred.
Yesterday,
the
Alaska
Bar
Association’s
Disciplinary
Board
adopted
a
recommendation
to
disbar
Kindred
for
violating
three
of
the
Alaska
Rules
of
Professional
Conduct;
two
related
to
false
statements
during
the
investigation
into
his
conduct,
one
related
to
the
allegation
of
sexual
harassment
in
his
chambers.
Alaska
disciplinary
counsel
argued
the
facts
“support[]
disbarment
from
the
practice
of
law
for
dishonesty
and
for
the
hostile
work
environment
that
took
a
personal
and
professional
toll
on
multiple
law
clerks.”
Kindred
has
not
responded
to
any
of
the
disciplinary
charges
against
him,
and
thus,
they
are
admitted
under
Alaskan
law.
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law,
the
revelations
about
the
misconduct
by
Kindred
have
struck
a
nerve
with
the
public:
Louise
Driscoll,
a
bar
disciplinary
counsel,
said
at
Thursday’s
hearing
that
bar
regulators
in
Alaska
began
getting
“lots
of
calls”
after
the
findings
against
Kindred
were
made
public.
She
said
that
“people
were
outraged”
and
asked,
“why
aren’t
you
doing
anything.”
Bar
regulators
have
been
working
on
discipline
for
Kindred,
though
this
does
not
represent
the
end
of
the
process.
The
Disciplinary
Board’s
recommendation
now
moves
to
the
Alaska
Supreme
Court
for
the
final
word
on
Kindred’s
disbarment.
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
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her.
Feel
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@Kathryn1 or
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