Disgraced Alaska Judge Joshua Kindred Disbarred by Court

Former US District Judge Joshua Kindred has been disbarred from the practice of law for misconduct while on the bench, a rare move resulting from a scandal that engulfed Alaska’s legal community.

The Alaska Supreme Court handed down Kindred’s disbarment in a Nov. 7 order. The official move followed state disciplinary bodies’ recommendations that his law license be revoked.

Kindred didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Kindred resigned from the US District Court for the District of Alaska in July 2024, shortly before an order revealed that he was found to have had a hostile work environment for his law clerks. The Ninth Circuit’s Judicial Council said that Kindred had inappropriate contacts with at least two federal prosecutors, one of whom was his former law clerk, as well as with a local defense attorney.

The council also said that Kindred, appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2020, had lied to judicial investigators during their inquiry.

The three justices on the Alaska Supreme Court who heard the case said they were adopting the findings of the state’s disciplinary board, which in August recommended Kindred’s disbarment. Disciplinary authorities in Alaska said that Kindred hasn’t responded to the efforts to take away his law license, despite him being seen sitting inside his mother’s house when papers in the proceedings were served there.

Two justices, Jennifer Henderson and Aimee Oravec, recused themselves from considering Kindred’s disbarment.

Louise Driscoll, a bar disciplinary counsel in Alaska, said ahead of the August vote that bar regulators had filed a grievance against Kindred in November 2024. He was charged with violating three Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct, with two counts tied to his false statements during the investigation of his conduct and the third over the hostile workplace for his law clerks.

The fallout from Kindred’s actions and his resulting resignation has spurred defense lawyers to file motions seeking new trials over conflicts the former judge had with prosecutors. Federal judges have granted multiple motions for new trials.

It’s also left the federal trial court with two of its three seats vacant, leading visiting judges from other states to handle some cases in Alaska.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced Aaron Christian Peterson as his nominee for one of the court’s vacancies.