C. Don Clay

Bio

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 criminal jury trials and law and motion departments, civil direct department and served as a Supervising and Executive judge during most of his career. He was elected and served as the Presiding Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court in 2012 and 2013.  He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to numerous Statewide Trial Court Committees and in 2019 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 District Courts from 1981 to 2002 and represented clients in a broad range of cases, both in civil and criminal, including matters involving entertainment law  and white-collar criminal defense.  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.  In June 2024 Judge Clay was sworn in as a member of the San Francisco Police  Commission and elected President of the Commission on June 4, 2025. He previously served terms on the San Francisco Fire Commission,  Juvenile Probation Commission and the Juvenile Justice Commission.  In addition, he has served on the Board of Directors of numerous non-profit and educational institutions.