Former
Trump-appointed
federal
judge
Joshua
Kindred
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
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
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
impact
of
the
judge’s
undisclosed
conflicts
of
interest
on
the
judicial
system
is
still
being
assessed.
But
one
result
was
a
new
trial
for
Rolando
Hernandez-Zamora.
Documents
filed
during
the
course
of
the
Hernandez-Zamora
case
revealed
new
details
about
the
interactions
between
Vandergaw
and
Kindred.
According
to
court
filings,
Vandergaw
said
she
was
“trapped”
by
Kindred’s
request
for
nude
photos
and
that
he
had
“the
power
to
ruin
not
only
my
career,
but
my
personal
life
as
well.”
When
initially
asked
about
her
relationship
with
Kindred,
Vandergraw
said
it
was
strictly
professional.
However,
after
he
resigned,
the
full
story
came
out.
As
reported
by
Reuters,
a
motion
in
the
Hernandez-Zamora
provides
details:
But
after
Kindred
resigned,
Vandergraw
in
August
“admitted
that
she
had
not
been
truthful,”
[U.S.
District
Judge
Marco
Hernandez]
wrote,
and
that
she
had
at
Kindred’s
request
sent
him
nude
photos
via
encrypted
messaging
services
beginning
in
December
2021.
The
filings
in
that
case
also
describe
Vandergraw’s
state
of
mind
at
the
time.
Defense
lawyer
Alexis
Howell
in
a
motion
arguing
for
the
dismissal
of
the
case
[against
Hernandez-Zamora]
said
that
Vandergraw
in
her
August
letter
described
how
Kindred
began
asking
for
the
photos
after
bragging
about
his
political
contacts
and
offering
to
help
the
prosecutor
get
nominated
to
become
a
federal
judge
herself.Vandergaw
in
the
letter
said
she
felt
“completely
powerless”
and
sent
him
nude
photos
while
also
receiving
sexually
explicit
messages
from
Kindred,
who
acted
aggressively
and
made
it
clear
he
had
“the
power
to
ruin
my
life,”
according
to
the
motion.
Vandergraw
went
on
to
say
she
“felt
trapped
and
believed
I
had
no
choice”
but
to
send
him
the
nude
photographs.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
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are
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Feel
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