Andrea Castillo of the LA Times reported: ICE deliberately limited testing at Bakersfield immigration facility with COVID-19 outbreak. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is part of a class action suit against ICE and GEO Group for conditions in immigration detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with the ACLU of Northern and Southern...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  August 6, 2020  Media Contacts  Sam Lew, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area slew@lccrsf.org, 415-272-8022  Valerie Ibarra, San Francisco Public Defenders valerie.ibarra@sfgov.org, 628-249-7946 American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493 American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California communications@aclusocal.org, (626) 755-4129 ***PRESS RELEASE*** Judge Orders ICE...Read More

KRON interviewed Danielle Harris, the Managing Attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Integrity Unit, in the segment: San Quentin inmates petition to be released due to coronavirus concerns. “tHERE’S JUST NO SUCH THING AS SIX-FOOT DISTANCING IN AN OVERCROWDED PRISON.” – DANIELLE HARRISRead More

We’re excited to announce our Young Defenders Program – a 40-week paid internship for 25 high school students focused on criminal justice issues. It’s a unique collaboration between the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, Mayor Breed’s Opportunities for All initiative, Teachers for Social Justice, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and SF Unified School District....Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 3, 2020 Contact:         Public Defender’s Office, Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org  Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org  ***PRESS RELEASE*** MAYOR LONDON BREED AND PUBLIC DEFENDER MANO RAJU ANNOUNCE YOUNG DEFENDERS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Paid internship program, created in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Human Rights Commission, and Teachers 4 Social Justice, provides...Read More

The Davis Vanguard reported: Efforts to Release Incarcerated from San Quentin Move Forward in Marin County Superior Court. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is part of a team of regional attorneys representing over 300 individual petitioners from San Quentin in a consolidated case of habeas corpus in Marin County Superior Court. “If the state...Read More

NBC News report from Jacob Ward – Coronavirus cases, deaths at San Quentin prison blamed on mismanagement – interviewed the sister of an incarcerated man at San Quentin seeking information from CDCR, and advocates describing the dangerous and challenging conditions for people in San Quentin during a massive outbreak of COVID-19. He also interviewed Jacque...Read More

Effort to Release People Incarcerated at San Quentin Moves Forward In Marin County Superior Court  Habeas petitions allege that California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation actions constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” as decisions led to an explosive and deadly Covid-19 outbreak at San Quentin  SAN FRANCISCO – A Marin County Superior Court judge has ordered the...Read More

The San Francisco Examiner published a pledge signed by sixteen current and former elected officials, including San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju: City leaders pledge to reject SFPOA support. The leaders also urged other officials and candidates to reject the support of the SF Police Officers’ Association. “The poa must acknowledge and publicly apologize for...Read More

Sarah Holder of the Bloomberg CityLab published The Imprisoners’ Dilemma – San Quentin’s deadly Covid-19 outbreak has intensified a national debate over releasing inmates and dramatically reducing the U.S. prison population — for good. In it, she notes the efforts of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office to urge Governor Newsom to reduce the state’s prison population. “While we have...Read More