Disgraced Judge’s Exit Leaves Alaska Federal Court Short-Handed

An Alaska federal judge’s abrupt resignation following explosive sexual misconduct findings threatens to back up cases at an already understaffed court.

Joshua Kindred’s departure creates a second vacancy on the three-seat court for Alaska’s two Republican senators, Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, to help President Joe Biden fill.

But the court may be months or longer away from reinforcements, a delay that’s likely to strain its single active judge. A contributing factor is the different methods Murkowski and Sullivan have for evaluating judicial candidates, and space on the congressional calendar is dwindling before the election.

“The people of Alaska, the people in our district, deserve to have judges in place to handle these cases,” Murkowski said in an interview. “I have been disappointed that we have not been able to get our nominee through that process to this point in time. We clearly have to double down.”

Court Strain

Kindred’s departure meant more than 200 of the cases on his docket were sent to Alaska’s remaining active judge, Chief Judge Sharon Gleason, who must now balance administrative responsibilities with a larger caseload.

Members of the Alaska legal community are already raising concerns about the vacancies’ impact, Matt Singer, an Anchorage-based trial lawyer, said July 8.

“Delay seems to be the most likely on the ground impact,” Singer said. “Delay just means more costs, more time, just ends up causing litigation costs to rise. And a delay creates uncertainty.”

The increased caseload “will lead to some delays” as a result of the judge’s availability and workload, Candice Duncan, the Alaska district court clerk, said in a written statement. Duncan also said it was “possible” that visiting judges from other federal district courts could help.

The court’s “saving grace,” is the presence of its four senior judges still hearing some cases, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who follows nominations. Judge Timothy Burgess, the youngest of the court’s senior judges who stepped back in December 2021, will take seven of Kindred’s cases, according to the clerk’s office.

Nomination Status

Alaska’s senators have previously looked to the Alaska Bar Association to aid them in evaluating candidates for the state’s US trial court. But Sullivan broke from prior practice last year when he created his own nine-member judiciary council, staffed with members of Alaska’s legal community and others who aren’t lawyers.

Sullivan and Murkowski both told Bloomberg Law they have communicated their preferred candidates to the White House, and Murkowski confirmed their lists are separate.

Murkowski, who has continued to rely on the state bar’s rating system for her recommendations, said she hopes to advance a nominee for Kindred’s now-vacant seat “as quickly as we can.”

“I have done the interviews of all the candidates, I have made my selection. I have made clear to the White House where my selection is. And I’d like to get that resolved,” Murkowski said.

A 2023 poll conducted by the Alaska Bar Association of its members ranked Alaska Superior Court Judge Yvonne Lamoureux the highest, with more than half of respondents describing her as extremely well-qualified or well-qualified. Other top-ranked candidates were Alaska US Attorney S. Lane Tucker and Solicitor General Tamara DeLucia.

But asked where things stand with Sullivan, Murkowski said, “You’re going to have to ask him.”

Sullivan said they are “working hard to fill the seat with the appropriate judge.”

“I have names that I’ve put forward that I think would be good judges. We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Time is running out for the senators to recommend consensus picks to President Joe Biden, Tobias said.

“We’re near the election,” he said, “They may just be willing to wait it out.”

The Kindred scandal itself may lead the two senators to forge an agreement on new nominees, said Bryan Schroder, the former US attorney in Alaska during the Trump administration.

“Given the notoriety of this problem and that it’s made national news, I think that puts some additional onus on the delegation to try to move to fill that seat,” Schroder said.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment about progress on filling vacancies on the court.

Little-Known Lawyer

Both senators have disavowed Kindred, following the July 8 release of the judicial report that found he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a former clerk and created a toxic work environment, and recommended possible impeachment.

Sullivan, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014, said Wednesday that he settled on Kindred because his first choice, attorney Jonathan Katchen, was poorly received. The Alaska Bar’s 2017 poll of bar members ranked Katchen 13th out of 20 candidates, and Kindred ranked 16th.

At his December 2019 confirmation hearing, Sullivan said he met Kindred a decade earlier while he served as Alaska’s attorney general, and Kindred worked as a prosecutor for the Anchorage District Attorney’s office. Sullivan said he was “impressed” by Kindred’s “deep understanding of Alaska’s unique legal landscape.”

Murkowski called him, at that 2019 hearing, a “good Alaskan” and said she knows “he’ll do well in his new role as he has done in all the others that he’s taken on.”

Murkowski acknowledges Kindred was not well-rated by the state’s bar association nor “well-known amongst the broader bar.” But she said that she knew him “in his previous life as an attorney in Alaska,” and “had no reason” to think he would engage in such misconduct.

Sullivan said he still believes the Alaska Bar Association’s poll is “not a good indicator of success” for potential judges, and that his newly formed selection council may be “more conducive” to gauge candidates’ fitness for the bench. Katchen was announced as a member of Sullivan’s panel in September.

“The process that was in use when Kindred was nominated is insufficient and not nearly enough due diligence,” Sullivan said.

—With assistance from Benjamin Penn.