C. Don Clay

Judge C. Don Clay served more than twenty years on the Alameda County Superior Court.  He retired on March 29, 2024.  As a judge, he presided over a criminal jury trial and law and motion department and supervised criminal calendars for most of his career. He was elected and served as the Presiding Judge in Alameda County in 2012 and 2013.  In 2019 he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court as a Special Master for the Commission on Judicial Performance, where he oversaw hearings on judicial misconduct complaints, a position he held until his retirement.

Judge Clay earned a Bachelor degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978 and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) in 1981.  He practiced both criminal defense and civil law in courts throughout California and the United States from 1981 to 2002 and represented clients in a broad range of cases, including serious felonies and white-collar crimes.  Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2003, Judge Clay served as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from 2002 to 2003.   

Judge Clay has been a resident of San Francisco for more than forty years and has been committed to serving the community for all of that time.  He has served on the Board of Directors of several non-profit and educational institutions.  In addition, Judge Clay has previously served on other San Francisco City commissions, including the Fire Commission and the Juvenile Probation Commission.