U.S. House committee demands answers on handling of Kansas judge’s harassing behavior
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Thursday raised concerns about whether employees of the judicial branch of the federal government are properly protected from harassment in light of the “troubling workplace behavior” by a judge in Kansas.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and other top members of the committee sent a letter to U.S. District Court of Kansas Chief Judge Julie Robinson and others demanding answers to several questions in light of a report last year that said U.S. District Court of Kansas Judge Carlos Murguia subjected employees to “sexually suggestive comments” and other harassing behavior.
Nadler is giving Robinson and others receiving the letter until Feb. 20 to answer what support has been offered to employees harassed by Murguia, what procedures exist to allow judicial employees to report misconduct confidentially and whether other judges in Kansas were aware of Murguia’s behavior and, if they were, why it wasn’t reported.
The letter, obtained by The Star, is addressed to Robinson, U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich and U.S. Judicial Conference Secretary James Duff.
Murguia, a federal judge in Kansas since 1999, received a reprimand on Sept. 30, 2019, by the Judicial Council of the Tenth Circuit after an investigation found he harassed female employees with inappropriate comments and after-hours text messages.
The investigation also found Murguia was involved in a “years-long extramarital sexual relationship with a drug-using individual” who was on probation at the time and went back to prison on felony convictions, which placed the judge in a position where he could potentially be compromised. Murguia was also routinely late for scheduled court proceedings because he played basketball during lunch breaks.
The Judicial Council noted Murguia, who works out of the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas, was less than candid when confronted about his behavior by investigators.
Murguia issued a statement apologizing for his actions at the time.
The House Judiciary Committee’s letter said the findings about Murguia call into question the degree to which 30,000 workers employed by the federal judiciary are protected from wrongful workplace conduct. The letter notes that employees receiving Murguia’s harassment were reluctant to tell the judge to stop because of his power in the workplace over them.
“In light of these serious allegations, we write to inquire about the adequacy of the rules and statutes governing judicial misconduct, and the effectiveness of the Judiciary’s recent reforms to address workplace harassment,” said the letter, which was also signed by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin; Hank Jackson, D-Georgia and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pennsylvania.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM.
