Federal Judge in Alaska Resigns Amid Accusations of Sexual Harassment

A federal judge in Alaska resigned after investigators found that he had been abusive to his law clerks, had an “inappropriately sexualized relationship” with one of them and then lied about his misconduct, according to a judicial report released on Monday.

The judge, Joshua M. Kindred of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, submitted his letter of resignation on July 3 without explanation, saying only that it would take effect on Monday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revealed in the report that Mr. Kindred had been asked to leave his post after a committee of judges investigating the claims against him found his chambers to be a hostile and sexualized work environment.

Investigators said that Mr. Kindred had sexually harassed one clerk, exchanging 278 pages of text messages with her, only a small fraction of which had to do with her official duties. After her clerkship ended, Mr. Kindred met her for drinks and took her back to his chambers, where he kissed her, according to the report.

During a second encounter, the report said, Mr. Kindred performed oral sex on the clerk in a friend’s apartment. “I just remember thinking like there’s nothing I can do about this, like this is about to happen,” she told investigators. Later, the clerk said, Mr. Kindred told her to “keep your head down and shut up,” with an expletive.

When confronted by the committee, Mr. Kindred said that there had been no physical or sexual interactions with the clerk at any point. “Only when asked under oath during the Judicial Council meeting of April 5, 2024, did he admit that he had deliberately lied to the special committee,” the report said.