A seasoned attorney from the Department of Justice, with nearly four decades of experience, has been dispatched to Alaska to support an escalating ethics review tied to a judge’s sexual misconduct. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Clymer, noted for his role in prosecuting two Los Angeles police officers who brutally beat Rodney King in 1991, will provide support in the Alaska U.S. Attorney’s office review of cases where former U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred potentially needed to recuse himself due to inappropriate ties with prosecutors. The DOJ’s Alaska office has confirmed this move to Bloomberg Law.
According to Reagan Zimmerman, spokeswoman for the Alaska office, the workload for motions and filings related to the Judge Kindred matter necessitated the assistance of Clymer, who will serve as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. Clymer’s posting comes shortly after the Alaska attorney’s office identified 21 additional cases requiring potential recusal by Kindred, nearly doubling the number of cases prosecutors had previously acknowledged.
This appointment falls under the purview of a law that allows the U.S. Attorney General to appoint attorneys to assist U.S. Attorneys when public interest necessitates, as detailed in a court filing on Thursday. The term of this assignment is indefinite. Meanwhile, the district’s defense bar is conducting its own investigation into past cases that might warrant reopening due to the failure to disclose the judge’s conflicts of interest.
Clymer’s multifaceted career includes significant roles in other contentious situations. Notably, he provided oversight during proceedings in Kansas City involving the secret recording of discussions between defense attorneys and inmates at Leavenworth Detention Center and also served as a special prosecutor in Seattle investigating the 2001 murder of an assistant U.S. Attorney.
For more detailed coverage, see the original article on Bloomberg Law here.