SF Chronicle reporters Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone report: SF public defender calls for firing of chief medical examiner. “Hart is not a credible witness and the truth-seeking function of the court process is thwarted,” Raju wrote in the complaint, which he addressed to Mayor London Breed, as well as the California Medical Board president...Read More
Nancy Chan reported in the San Francisco Examiner: SF City Attorney seeks to bar 28 alleged drug dealers from the Tenderloin. “More enforcement of low-level, subsistence street level sellers is not the solution to this ongoing public health crisis,” Raju said. “Rather, we should use our resources to provide meaningful alternatives to street level dealers...Read More
September 24, 2020 PRESS CONTACTS: Valerie Ibarra – SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org; Treasurer’s Office/Financial Justice Project – (415) 596-6138 – Anne.Stuhldreher@sfgov.org California Becomes the First State in the Nation to End Collection of Fees in the Criminal Legal System San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros and Public Defender Mano Raju applaud Governor...Read More
September 23, 2020 PRESS CONTACTS: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org; Gala King – Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity – (510)759-4196 – GKing@im4humanintegrity.org SF Board of Supervisors Unanimously Passes Resolution Urging Governor Newsom to Pardon Immigrant Rights Leader Charles Joseph SAN FRANCISCO – Last night, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed...Read More
KQED’s Julie Small reported: Lots of Drugs, Lax Oversight: Former SF Medical Examiner Staffers Say Lab Analyst’s Meth Arrest ‘Just the Tip of the Iceberg’. In light of the arrest of an SF lab analyst in Utah, where he was found with illicit drugs in an “evidence” bag from the Medical Examiner’s Office, San Francisco...Read More
Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury reported: California Supreme Court reinstates bail reform from landmark Humphrey ruling – 2018 appellate decision moved trial judges away from ensuring court appearances with fixed bail schedules, toward non-cash alternatives. Excerpt: In lauding the Humphrey ruling, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju also said the remaining question of...Read More
Megan Cassidy of the San Francisco Chronicle reported: San Francisco to close crumbling, unsafe county jail sooner than expected in face of coronavirus threat. “The closure of County Jail 4 has been a long time coming,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who linked the jail’s closure to broader criminal justice reform efforts.“The COVID-19...Read More
Robert Salonga interviewed SF Public Defender Mano Raju for the San Jose Mercury article: Attorney General asks California Supreme Court to restore Humphrey bail-reform ruling. California Attorney General Javier Beccera sent a letter asking the Calfornia Supreme Court to restore a landmark 2018 appellate ruling in the Humphrey case – which requires judges to take...Read More
Lawyers for nearly 50 men incarcerated at San Quentin sue over ‘botched transfer,’ demand release By Lisa Fernandez, KTVU FOX 2, August 17, 2020 As of Monday, San Quentin had about 3,100 people in custody and San Francisco Asst. Public Defender Danica Rodarmel said she wanted that number to drop to at least 1,550. To...Read More
KQED’s Farida Jhabvala Romero interviewed Deputy Public Defender Emi MacLean for the report: Half of All Detainees at Bakersfield ICE Facility Have Tested Positive For COVID-19. This outbreak was discovered after a federal judge ordered weekly coronavirus testing at the Mesa Verde immigrant detention center. But immigration officials opted for slower testing that did not...Read More
