Biography

The Hon. Otis Sterling, III is a judge for the Riverside County Superior Court in California. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2011. He filled the vacancy created by the resignation of the Hon. Paul E. Zellerbach.

He is a registered Democrat.

Judge Sterling received his B.A. from Brigham Young University in Utah. He went on to earn his J.D. from the Brigham Young University, J. Ruben Clark Law School.

While in Utah, Sterling worked as a public defender with the Salt Lake City Legal Defenders Association from 1998 to 2002. He would then join the Riverside County District Attorney's Office in California, where he served as a supervising district attorney beginning in 2002. He would hold that position until his appointment to the Superior Court in 2011.

Judge Sterling has served as a speaker and mentor to the local youth, where he has shared his experiences growing up in a dysfunctional household with parents who were drug users.