LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A new NPR investigation has found problems with the system for policing bad behavior by federal judges and a pervasive culture of fear about blowing the whistle.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Justice correspondent Carrie Johnson interviewed dozens of people who worked in the judicial branch, and she's here now to talk more about what she's uncovered.
FADEL: A warning - this investigation and Carrie's reporting mentions sexual assault. Carrie, thanks for being here.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Thanks, Leila.
FADEL: OK. So tell us a little bit more about the scope of what you found and when you started looking into this.
JOHNSON: I've worked on this project for nearly a year. I talked with 42 people who are current or former employees of the federal courts, everyone from law clerks to court reporters, to people in probation and public defender offices. They told me about bad experiences with more than two dozen judges. Those judges represent both major political parties. They're men and women who work all over the country.
FADEL: OK, bad experiences. That's pretty broad. I mean, what were the common themes you heard in talking with all sorts of people?
JOHNSON: Well, let's start with the idea that the relationship between a federal judge and a law clerk can be pretty imbalanced. Judges have the power to make or break the career of a young lawyer with only a phone call or two. People told me they were afraid to report bullying or harassment by federal judges because the internal systems are so complicated. The consequences for them are huge, and there's really no guarantee those people can remain anonymous.
FADEL: Did you get some former clerks to share their stories? What stands out to you about them?
JOHNSON: Yes. I spoke with a former law clerk in Alaska. She moved there in 2020, and she had hoped the clerkship would jumpstart her career in the law. She was afraid to talk on tape, so we found a voice actor to share her words verbatim.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The judge was the HR department. The judge was my boss. The judge was a colleague. The judge was everything. He had all the power.
FADEL: Wow.
JOHNSON: That judge, Joshua Kindred, began to text her constantly, sometimes really personal things. And after she left her clerkship, she said he sexually assaulted her. The judge later said the encounter was consensual and said he had no, quote, "sinister intent." Eventually, a court investigation found he created a hostile work environment for his clerks and had an inappropriately sexualized relationship with one of them. That judge resigned last July.
FADEL: So what are the federal court saying about what you found in this investigation?
JOHNSON: The Administrative Office of the Courts helps set policy for the court system and handles all kinds of administrative tasks. They said the changes they put in place since the #MeeToo scandals in 2017 are real and that they're working. They say they're continuing to make improvements, and more people are using their systems to complain. But few of those complaints are actually about judges who behave badly. People who follow this system tell me those numbers are low because clerks are afraid to complain about judges and sometimes because clerks are discouraged from filing any paperwork at all.
FADEL: But then you have a lot of these young clerks that you spoke to that feel unprotected. Are there any efforts to change the system?
JOHNSON: There are some. Democrats in the U.S. House, like Norma Torres of California and Hank Johnson of Georgia, have been pushing for some change. Their bill to give judicial workers more legal protection died last year without any action from Congress.
FADEL: Thank you, Carrie. I'm sure we'll hear more of your reportings and your findings in the weeks and months ahead.
JOHNSON: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
