Kesha Tanabe Federal Removed

Kesha L. Tanabe, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Minnesota, resigned effective March 31, 2025, after roughly three years on the bench, while under an active misconduct investigation by the Eighth Circuit. The investigation examined allegations that Tanabe mistreated, fired, and retaliated against several court employees during her tenure.

Her resignation, announced via the district court's own press release, halted the investigation before it could reach a formal finding — a structural feature of federal judicial discipline noted by court-accountability advocates: once a judge resigns, the judiciary loses jurisdiction to continue investigating.