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...Read More

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.Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

"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.Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

San Francisco, CA – On December 3, 2008, after two and a half hours of deliberation, Cristino Ortiz, 42, was acquitted of three counts of lewd acts on a child under 14. Ortiz was the live-in boyfriend of the mother of two girls, aged 11 and 12. On the day of the incident in question,...Read More

A client guide to the criminal justice system, explains the process and what one can expect from their appointed public defender.Read More

San Francisco, CA – On Wednesday, November 19, Redai Meresa was found not guilty of misdemeanor grand theft after 40 minutes of jury deliberation. After working his typical ten hour day, Redai Meresa was headed home when he attempted to help a seemingly poor, homeless man with an alcohol problem. The man had $30 protruding...Read More