On June 27, 2022, the SF Examiner published this Op Ed – What happens when San Francisco and other cities drastically underfund public defender offices – by San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. Click through to read the full Opinion. Excerpt: As trusted advocates for our clients, public defenders are the best positioned out of...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Man Acquitted in Death of Elderly Dogwalker SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco jury found Peter Rocha not guilty of murder and all felony charges in the accidental death of an elderly Glen Park resident, Leo...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 27, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | pubdef-mediarelations@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Condemns SFPD Killing of Two Men, Including Former Client Rafael Mendoza SAN FRANCISCO – Last Thursday, members of the San Francisco Police Department shot and killed two men after being called to...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 26, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Jury Acquits on Assault Charge in a Trial That Came 7 Months Late for a Man Jailed for Nearly a Year SFPD took 9 months to turn over video that the jury used to reach its...Read More
For Immediate Release: May 11, 2022 Media Contacts: Emma Tozer, GLIDE Foundation, etozer@glide.org, (301) 383-3128 Valerie Ibarra, SF Public Defender’s Office, Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org, (628) 249-7946 ***PRESS RELEASE*** Coalition of 60 Civil Rights, Traffic Safety, and Community Groups Urging San Francisco Police Commission to End Racially-Biased Pretext Stops SAN FRANCISCO — Today at 11:00 AM, the Coalition...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2022 MEDIA CONTACTS: Valerie Ibarra, SF Public Defender’s Office, Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org, (628) 249-7946 Emma Tozer, GLIDE Foundation, etozer@glide.org, (301) 383-3128 **MEDIA ADVISORY** City Leaders and Community Advocates To Hold Press Conference Urging an End to Racially-Biased Pretext Stops in San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO — On Wednesday, May 11th at 11AM, the...Read More
SF Examiner Reports on the “Legal Logjam” in SF Courts Keeping Hundreds in Jail Past Trial Deadlines “If we’re going to prioritize anything as The City reopens, the most important thing to prioritize, according to our Constitution, should be people’s right to liberty,” [raju] said. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office has been raising the...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946 **PRESS STATEMENT** Public Defenders Remember Peter G. Keane, Former Chief Assistant Public Defender for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Our sincere condolences go out to the family of Peter G. Keane, a well-loved and deeply respected former...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office |Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Jury Acquits Another Community Member Who Spent One Year in Jail Awaiting Trial Judge wouldn’t release person from jail before trial without a program in place, but no program was available SAN FRANCISCO – Last week,...Read More
This piece in The Guardian highlights the continuing humanitarian crisis in San Francisco County jail. Nearly 900 people remain in isolation under 23-hour lockdown, and at least 25% of them are people whose trial deadlines have passed. We are litigating against the trampling of their speedy trial rights caused by ongoing court delays. “These aren’t...Read More
