Court Commissioner Admonished For Allowing Inappropriate Comments, Insulting Court Interpreter

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — An Alameda County Superior Court commissioner was given a public admonishment by a state judicial commission Wednesday for routinely allowing inappropriate comments in his courtroom and for insulting a court interpreter.

The Commission on Judicial Performance gave the admonishment to Mark Kliszewski, who has been disciplined twice previously by the state panel. During his assignment to the court's juvenile division, Kliszewski for many years "permitted court staff members to routinely make offensive and inappropriate comments, some of which related to race, gender and sexual conduct," the commission wrote.

"Kliszewski's tolerance of these remarks, by sometimes laughing at them and failing to take sufficient corrective action to stop them, violated his duty to be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants and others with whom he deals in an official capacity," the commission wrote.

The commission determined that between 2010 and 2015, Kliszewski had also made numerous insulating and derogatory remarks about a court interpreter, including some in the interpreter's presence. Kliszewski's prior discipline included being suspended for 120 days without pay in 2000 for misconduct such as making misrepresentations in the literature for his judicial campaign.

He was also suspended in 1996 for two weeks without pay for discourteous and improper treatment of a female social worker in his courtroom, according to the commission. Kliszewski was required to participate in additional training as part of both prior disciplinary actions.

More information about the Commission on Judicial Performance can be found online at http://cjp.ca.gov.

By Bay City News

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