On Saturday, July 20, 2024, Bloomberg Law reported that Rolando Hernandez-Zamora, a man convicted of cyberstalking his ex-partner, has become the first person to file a legal challenge to his conviction in the wake of a judicial scandal involving former Alaska federal judge Joshua Kindred.
Hernandez-Zamora was found guilty by a jury and sentenced by Judge Kindred in June for allegedly cyberstalking his former romantic partner. However, just days later, Kindred resigned from his position as judge after a judicial conduct panel found he had sexually harassed his former law clerk and exchanged hundreds of inappropriate text messages with her. They also discovered Kindred received nude photographs from a senior federal prosecutor, who was later demoted.
In light of these disturbing revelations about Judge Kindred’s misconduct, Hernandez-Zamora’s attorney, Alexis Howell, has filed a request to have the conviction overturned. Howell argues that Kindred’s behavior, including his extensive communication with his clerk, meets the legal definition of cyberstalking – the very crime Hernandez-Zamora was convicted of. With such striking parallels between the judge’s actions and the details of the case, the attorney claims her client was denied a fair trial and due process.
Additionally, the request points out that the senior federal prosecutor involved in the photo scandal with Kindred was present in the courtroom for Hernandez-Zamora’s entire trial, even though she had no official role in the case. Her mere presence, it is argued, could have influenced the two prosecutors handling the case. Due to the serious conflict of interest, senior officials at the US Attorney’s office should have disclosed this but failed to do so for around two years.
If granted, this request could result in Hernandez-Zamora receiving a new trial heard by a different judge. However, his lawyer has stated a new trial may not be sufficient and has called for stronger sanctions against the US Attorney’s office due to their role in covering up the conflict for so long.
The filing of this legal challenge has prompted reviews of other cases Kindred presided over during his time on the bench. It remains to be seen if any more convictions will be contested. But with the magnitude of the judge’s misconduct coming to light, this looks set to be only the first of many cases reexamined in the wake of the Alaska judicial scandal.
Source: Bloomberg Law
