Hon. Bentrish Satarzadeh is a Commissioner at Alameda County Superior Court presiding over the traffic and general civil divisions. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner she served the Court as a research attorney where she advised judicial officers on law and motion matters in the criminal and civil divisions. She also served the Court as a Judge Pro Tem in small claims, traffic, domestic violence, family and other civil matters. Comm. Satarzadeh currently sits on the board of the Center for Judicial Education and Research with the Judicial Council of California where she is responsible for curricula development and teaching both research attorneys and judges on matters involving civil litigation.
Prior to the Court, Comm. Satarzadeh was a trial attorney at the Cartwright & Alexander Law Firm in San Francisco where she handled an array of tort cases and while in law school she handled civil rights cases at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Comm. Satarzadeh is a past chair of the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, the first registered Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club in the nation, which is responsible for making a profound impact on San Francisco, California and American politics in the advancement of LGBT rights.
Comm. Satarzadeh also served as immediate past president of Women Lawyers of Alameda County and served on the Board of California Women Lawyers. She is active in the Earl Warren American Inn of Court in Oakland and she is a sustaining member of the Alameda County Bar Association, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, California Judges Association, International Association of LGBTQ Judges, and National Association of Women Judges.
Comm. Satarzadeh graduated from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California and received her Juris Doctorate degree with highest honors in 2002. She earned a B.A. also with highest honors in Political Science from San Jose State University in 1999.
Comm. Satarzadeh is fluent in Farsi and Assyrian and lives in Alameda, CA with her wife and two cats.