Monday, March 16, 2009
You may have heard or read that the new Community “Justice” Center (CJC) opened last week. Based on Brooklyn’s Red Hook Community Justice Center, the CJC is supposed to solve neighborhood problems like drugs, crime, prostitution and theft. The court is a full-fledged court, except that it is situated in the Tenderloin and deals with misdemeanor and […]
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
San Francisco, CA – A San Francisco man, who was strip-searched and misidentified by police, was acquitted of drug sales in 70 minutes after his deputy public defender exposed the prosecution’s case as devoid of evidence of illegal activity. “The scary thing about this case is that what happened to my client could have happened […]
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The need for a well-resourced and comprehensive public defense system was made evident in a study released yesterday by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) indicating that African Americans and Hispanics are over-represented in the criminal justice system and more likely to require a public defender than their Caucasian counterparts.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
San Francisco, CA – Demetrius Hill, 20, was acquitted yesterday afternoon of first degree murder in connection with the May 3, 2008 shooting death of Ajason Black, 32, in the parking lot of the Buchanan YMCA on Geary Boulevard. Deputy Public Defender Mark Iverson, who represented Hill, successfully argued at trial that Hill had no […]
Thursday, February 5, 2009
San Francisco, CA – San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi on Thursday promised cooperation with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd’s call for an audit of the public defender’s office, but accused Elsbernd of engaging in petty retaliatory politics that are wasting valuable resources. “I think that this unnecessary audit will result in an incredible waste of staff […]
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
“There is no way for a single person to know the identity of every gang member in the Mission. How can we punish a person for standing with people he has no reason to believe he is prohibited from associating with?” said Deputy Public Defender Lopez.
Friday, January 30, 2009
In April 2006, Kaake was detained by San Francisco Police Officers Peter Richardson and Michael Moody after a supposed informant reported that Kaake was going to make a drug delivery. According to Kaake, an admitted methamphetamine addict, police searched her car without a warrant and found a digital scale, eight empty baggies, and 15 grams of methamphetamine in a CD case, which she explained was for personal use. The arresting officers testified that they recovered these items from Kaake’s pocket.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
San Francisco, CA – The City’s refusal to provide cost-effective legal representation to indigent criminal defendants will force the Public Defender’s Office to turn away select homicide and other serious cases, as of February 1, 2009. The Public Defender’s action comes in response to the denial of City funding for two vacant paralegal positions. The […]
Friday, January 9, 2009
San Francisco, CA – On Monday, January 5, 2009, Jeremy Womack, 30, was acquitted of battery on a partner and battery on a partner causing a traumatic injury after forty-five minutes of jury deliberation. Womack was arrested on November 11, 2008 after police officers responded to a call of domestic violence. Womack contended that his […]
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Teresa Sheehan, 56, was acquitted today of one count of making criminal threats. The jury hung 11-1 in favor of finding her not guilty of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault on a peace officer. Sheehan, who suffers from schizo-affective disorder, was shot six times by San Francisco police officers during the incident that resulted in her arrest and prosecution.