Members of the House Judiciary Committee on Friday criticized the Judicial Conference for its approach to handling misconduct claims within federal courts, saying "the judiciary's processes for handling workplace misconduct continue to fall short."

The statement from the bipartisan group of lawmakers—House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, Jim Sensenbrenner, Mary Gay Scanlon and courts subcommittee chair Hank Johnson—homed in on the recent Judicial Conference order on U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia of the District of Kansas, who announced his resignation over sexual harassment claims last month.

The conference's Judicial Conduct and Disability Committee said in an order earlier this week that Murguia's resignation marks the end of its investigation into his conduct. The order also revealed previously unknown details about the initial investigation into claims against Murguia, including that it stretched back to 2016 and that he was first referred to "medical treatment."

"The Judicial Conference's order concerning Judge Murguia raises significant questions about whether there are appropriate procedures in place to consistently and fairly handle complaints," the lawmakers said in a statement Friday. "Moreover, it comes nearly four years after his misconduct was first reported, after two congressional hearings, and after Judge Murguia had announced his resignation."

The House Judiciary Committee also released Friday a letter it received from the Judicial Conference in response to questions it sent last month about Murguia and steps federal courts have taken to protect employees from harassment.

The letter, dated March 3 and signed by Judicial Conference Secretary James Duff, Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and Chief Judge Julie Robinson of the District of Kansas, offered up a defense of the judiciary's actions over the past few years to address misconduct.

"The proceedings in this matter demonstrate the continuing commitment of the Judiciary Branch to address effectively workplace misconduct," the letter said of the Murguia investigation. "As the JC&D Committee Order explains, the investigation proceeded over several years and was expanded as additional information about multiple instances of misconduct was discovered through investigation."

The letter said no victims of Murguia's harassment were required to work for the judge after the misconduct was reported, and the district court "also offered assistance to those still employed in the courthouse, including counseling and relocation to other judiciary jobs."

"The Tenth Circuit's investigation did not uncover any negative personnel decision toward Judge Murguia's harassment victims. As the JC&D Committee order states, Judge Murguia was required to provide, and did provide, written apologies to each of his harassment victims. He also provided apologies to the court employees and others affected by his misconduct," the letter reads.

In addressing questions about the judiciary's general approach to preventing and addressing misconduct, the letter described the work of the Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group, created in 2018 after sexual harassment allegations were made against then-Judge Alex Kozinski on the Ninth Circuit. Kozinski resigned over the claims.

The letter also laid out the different processes that judiciary employees can report instances of misconduct, as well as the reforms recommended by the working group being adopted by courts.

"We appreciate the opportunity to describe our aggressive response to workplace misconduct in the Judiciary. Our working group continues to seek ways to improve our processes and procedures so that our workplace reflects our values of civility, respect and appropriate workplace behavior," the letter concludes.

However, the lawmakers criticized the judiciary's efforts, saying Friday the response "suggests that there are a patchwork of policies across the different judicial circuits and with limited options for reporting outside of an employee's immediate environment, calling into question the ability to report violations confidentially."

"The letter does not specify what, if any, programmatic reviews were conducted in the Tenth Circuit or the District of Kansas in response to this case. Yet it is clear that systemic problems are at the heart of this issue," the lawmakers said. "The power dynamics of the federal judiciary create an environment that, without appropriate procedures in place, unnecessarily place judicial employees, clerks, and interns at risk and foster a culture of silence. While the federal judiciary has made progress, much more needs to be done."

The judiciary's work on misconduct was sparked by the 2017 allegations against Kozinski. Recent congressional testimony by Olivia Warren, a former law clerk to the late Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit, has put a spotlight on the judiciary's efforts since then and raised questions about the effectiveness of the reforms.