King County District Court Judge Fa’amomoi Masaniai has been formally reprimanded after state investigators found he engaged in inappropriate personal conduct with a court clerk in May 2023, according to a stipulation and order filed April 24, 2026. The disciplinary agreement describes a series of interactions in his chambers, including an offer of a massage and an unwanted embrace, that left the clerk shaken and led to her reassignment away from him.
What the commission found
In its written findings, the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct concluded that Masaniai repeatedly communicated with the clerk about personal matters and blurred professional boundaries in the months after she started work. According to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, he invited her to his chambers on May 5, 2023, and offered her a massage, then on May 8 asked for a hug that turned into what the order calls a “full body embrace,” with his hand resting low on her back.
The filing says the clerk felt she could not refuse the contact, then fled the room, vomited and later suffered panic attacks as she tried to distance herself from the judge. The commission held that Masaniai’s conduct violated multiple canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct that require judges to maintain appropriate boundaries and protect the dignity and safety of court staff.
Clerk's account and the judge's response
The commission’s stipulated facts state that the clerk began working at the district court in January 2023 and first reached out to Masaniai about a case. What started as work-related contact evolved into frequent personal messages and calls outside of work. During the investigation, Masaniai told the panel he had lost eight family members since 2020 and said he viewed the embrace as a “bro hug,” according to the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
He acknowledged the power imbalance between a judge and a clerk, agreed that his conduct was inappropriate and expressed remorse. The stipulation notes that he stopped contacting the clerk once she asked him to, and that the presiding judge reassigned her the following week so she would no longer have to work with him directly.
Reprimand, training and next steps
The commission imposed a written reprimand, an intermediate form of discipline that requires the judge to appear in person before the panel to be formally admonished. Under the agreement, Masaniai must reread the Code of Judicial Conduct and complete remedial training on sexual harassment and gender dynamics within one year, as set out by the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Separately, the presiding judge moved Masaniai to a different courthouse in May 2023, and the clerk has not been required to work with him since, as reported by The Seattle Times.
Why this matters in King County
Judicial discipline orders are designed to protect court employees and shore up public confidence in the courts. The commission described Masaniai’s behavior as serious misconduct, even while characterizing it as isolated and relatively short lived. Masaniai was appointed to the King County District Court bench in January 2021 and won election in November 2022, according to the King County District Court. The reprimand now sits in the public record attached to a sitting judge.
Legal implications
The reprimand is an administrative sanction; it does not remove Masaniai from office or suspend him from the bench. Instead it sets out corrective steps aimed at preventing a repeat, including proof that he completed the required training within a year, according to the Commission on Judicial Conduct. With the order finalized, the commission has closed this investigation, leaving the incident documented for the public and for future judicial oversight.
