The federal judge who resigned on July 3rd amid accusations of sexual misconduct has also been allegedly found to have had a conflict of interest with attorneys who appeared before him in 23 criminal cases. An investigation uncovered that the judge has been having inappropriate sexual relationships with a law clerk, along with creating a hostile environment for his colleagues.
On Friday, an email was sent to the state’s top federal public defender, Bryan Wilson, the head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s criminal division, which stated that the former clerk did not have any cases before Judge Kindred while she served as an assistant U.S. attorney. However, he noted that his office identified 23 cases where potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of impropriety existed between the lawyers involved and Judge Kindred.
Judges are required by ethical guidelines to disqualify themselves from any case where their impartiality might be reasonably questioned. If these conflicts were unknown to the involved parties, defense lawyers could potentially challenge convictions or sentences handed down by Judge Kindred.
According to Wilson, the 9th Circuit’s order identified three prosecutors and one defense lawyer as potentially having conflicts. Among those cited were a senior prosecutor who had a “flirtatious rapport” with Kindred and sent him nude photographs and another local attorney who exchanged flirtatious text messages with the judge.
Alaska’s top federal public defender states that these 23 cases are only the start of a larger picture. An investigation is underway into Kindred’s behavior on the bench and how it has impacted the cases he has been dealing with.
