![[Kalinski Picture]](KalinskiG_01.JPG)
George Kalinski
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner
by Gene Harubin Zygmont
George Kalinski, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner, was born in Hamtramck, Michigan, on September 18, 1935, one of eight children of Juliana (Buczynski) and Frank Kalinski. Upon entering Hamtramck High School, he found that he needed a foreign language to be eligible for college, so he promptly enrolled in a course in Polish, reasoning that he could practice that language with his grandmother. By the time he entered Wayne State University (1953) he became so fascinated with the language of his ancestors that he majored in Polish Studies, as well as Economics. In 1957, he graduated Magna Cum Laude then attended the University's Law School from which he graduated with honors in 1959.
Kalinski entered the Army in 1960 and was stationed in Korea, serving as attorney and judicial officer in the Judge Advocate General Corps: first as defense lawyer, later as prosecutor. He feels that this experience really taught him the fine art of advocacy. Although his tour of duty ended in 1962, Kalinski remains in the Army reserve and, for over two decades, taught at the Judge Advocate Generals School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
After separating from the Army in 1962, Kalinski studied International Law at Harvard University and graduated in June of 1964. Meanwhile, he had been admitted to the California Bar (1963) and for the next ten years he practiced law in Los Angeles. For some five years he handled probate, pension and profit sharing matters for a downtown law firm. But, as a self styled "people person" he found, that although it was a lucrative practice, he simply did not find probate and estate planning intellectually challenging or rewarding. He wanted to expand on the type of law he practiced, left the firm to open a solo practice and, for the next few years, handled a variety of cases involving criminal law.
In 1975, he closed his practice to become an administrative law judge for the state unemployment insurance appeals board in Upland, where he ruled on unemployment insurance claims from employers, workers and government authorities. The position of Commissioner was a natural extension of this work.
As Commissioner, Kalinski has served in a variety of capacities: handling cases involving family law, juvenile delinquency, child abuse, civil law and motion and attachment proceedings. He currently handles family matters.
In his limited time off the bench, Kalinski, a bachelor, enjoys travelling, skiing and relaxing at his mountain home near Los Angeles. He has been actively involved in the community: teaching courses in Business Law to inner city students at Los Angeles City College and also has been actively involved in several Polish American organizations and continues to support worthy Polish American causes.
From: Polish Americans in California, vol. II. National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs & Polish American Historical Association. California 1995.