Kansas case spurs House panel inquiry on judicial harassment

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Thursday questioned the adequacy of the protections against workplace harassment and misconduct in the judicial branch after a federal judge in Kansas was publicly reprimanded for sexually harassing female employees and having an extramarital affair with an offender.

The Judicial Council for the 10th U.S. Circuit admonished U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia last September for subjecting employees to sexually suggestive comments, inappropriate text messages and excessive, non-work contact.

The Judicial Council's findings "document very troubling workplace behavior by an active judge that was never reported,” the committee said in a letter to James C. Duff of the Judicial Conference of the United States, Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and Chief Judge Julie Robinson of the District of Kansas.

The Council has not said what has been done to ensure a safe workplace for Murguia's co-workers and other employees, the letter says. Murguia is based in Kansas City, Kansas.

The congressional leaders asked what support has been provided for employees who work with Murguia, whether they have been provided an opportunity to seek work elsewhere in the court, when the misconduct began and how many people he harassed. It also seeks answers on whether any of the people he harassed suffered negative personnel decisions and whether any plan is in place to review his personnel decisions.

It asks why none of the employees felt comfortable filing a complaint against Murguia and seeks to discover whether other judges in the federal courts in Kansas were concerned about his behavior.

The committee requested a response by Feb. 20.

While the letter thanks the Judicial Council for making its order against Murguia public, it says partial...