Fa'amomoi Masaniai

Professional career

• Pro tem Commissioner for King County Superior Court Juvenile Division (2015)
• Engaged in conduct without regard to the power differential between judge and court staff

Education

Additional information

• High‐profile, historically significant Washington State judge with a long legal career, but in 2026 he was formally reprimanded for conduct deemed inappropriate under the Code of Judicial Conduct
• On April 24, 2026, the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a reprimand after Judge Masaniai stipulated he violated Canon 1, Rules 1.1 and 1.2 and Canon 2, Rules 2.3(A) and 2.8(B) of the Code of Judicial Conduct
• Judge Fa’amomoi Masaniai is a King County, Washington District Court judge appointed in 2021 and re‐elected in 2022, but in April 2026 he was formally reprimanded by the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct through inappropriate personal contact with a court clerk
• Masaniai, the first Samoan judge on the Washington State bench and believed to be the first graduate of the Washington State Bar Association’s Rule 6 Law Clerk Program to become a judge, was appointed to the King County District Court by the King County Council in 2021 and re‐elected by voters in 2022
• Pro tem judge in multiple municipal courts (Seattle, Renton, SeaTac, Des Moines, Issaquah, Puyallup)
• Federal and state court practice, including as an independent prosecutor in American Samoa
• The case is public, and he has accepted responsibility, completed remedial training, and continues to serve
• He has handled criminal and civil cases, small claims, name changes, protection orders, and specialized courts such as Regional Mental Health and Regional Veterans Court