On Monday, April 20, 2026, Courthouse News Service reported that a former Alaska federal judge’s sexual misconduct has taken center stage in a heliski dispute before the Ninth Circuit.

The case involves an appeal from Silverton Mountain Guides, an outdoor tour company, against a judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest Service. The company sued the Forest Service in 2022 after the agency rejected its application for a permit to conduct guided helicopter skiing operations in the Chugach National Forest.

The case was initially assigned to former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred, whose impartiality was called into question due to a “pathological tendency to lie” and documented workplace impropriety, according to Dominic Draye, the attorney representing Silverton Mountain Guides.

Kindred was appointed as a District Court judge in Alaska in 2020 by President Donald Trump. He resigned in 2024, the same day the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit released a report detailing his creation of a hostile work environment. The report cited an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his law clerks, who later became an assistant United States attorney, as well as the receipt of nude photographs from a more senior United States attorney.

Kindred entered a final judgment in favor of the Forest Service in 2023, while under investigation for his misconduct. After Kindred’s resignation, the tour company sought relief from the judgment, but the new judge assigned to the case denied the request. Silverton Mountain Guides argued before the Ninth Circuit that Kindred’s judgment should be overturned because his entanglement with multiple U.S. attorneys and the pending investigation made him unable to be impartial.

Draye argued that Kindred’s behavior would cause reasonable people to question his impartiality. However, U.S. Circuit Judge Danielle Forrest questioned how this case differed from others Kindred oversaw during his investigation, suggesting the tour company’s argument could apply to every case Kindred handled.

The tour company contended that cases involving government entities should be analyzed for conflicts of interest. They further noted that the Ninth Circuit appointed a special committee to investigate Kindred just days after he was assigned to the case. Draye stated that Kindred had become “obsessed with maintaining secrecy” and had a significant incentive to curry favor with the U.S. attorney’s office.

U.S. Circuit Judge Morgan Christen, an Obama appointee, pointed out that neither of the two attorneys involved in the investigation was assigned to the tour company’s case against the Forest Service, as both were criminal lawyers. The Forest Service disagreed with the tour company’s arguments. Justice Department attorney Derek Weiss called Kindred’s behavior “abhorrent and inexcusable” but questioned whether it justified reopening a final judgment when none of the parties or attorneys were involved in the scandal.

Judge Forrest raised the issue of appearance, stating that actual proof of conflict or bias wasn’t necessary and that Kindred’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned. The Forest Service maintained that there was no evidence to support the notion that Kindred should have recused himself and that vacating the judgment would undermine public confidence.

The Ninth Circuit panel, which included U.S. Circuit Judge Sidney R. Smith, a Bill Clinton appointee, did not indicate when it would rule.

 

 

Source: Courthouse News Service