Nuala Bishari reported for SF Weekly: Former Prisoner Fights for Inmates’ Release – featuring Steph Liebb, a paralegal in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office who was formerly incarcerated at San Quentin. Mr. Liebb now works on the post-conviction relief team offering assistance to people in California prisons with convictions from San Francisco who may...Read More

ABC 7 News reported: In 1st ruling of its kind, SF judge declares witnesses will wear transparent face masks in court. Deputy Public Defender, Sierra Villaran, successfully argued the importance of being able to see facial expressions during the first jury trial San Francisco Superior Court after the pandemic interrupted the court schedule in March...Read More

This Op Ed – Gov. Newsom must release more people from prisons to protect Californians and save lives – was co-authored by Danica Rodarmel, the statewide policy director of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and James King, the State Campaigner at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights who was formerly incarcerated inside San...Read More

Broad Coalition of Legal and Medical Experts Urge SF Courts to Restore ‘Zero Bail’ Amid Growing Number of COVID-19 Cases in SF Jails  SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco County jail has seen a 40% increase in positive COVID-19 cases since June 18, 2020.  This surge prompted a broad coalition – including the Bar Association of San...Read More

Nuala Bishari reported for the SF Public Press on how S.F. Immigration Lawyers Cut ICE Detention Centers Population by Two-Thirds. This article features the work of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Immigration Unit to protect people being held in immigration detention, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through several joint legal actions, the population of...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – With 2,582 incarcerated persons with active cases of COVID-19 in California prisons statewide, and over 1,100 people incarcerated in San Quentin testing positive, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is mobilizing to free people as quickly as possible to prevent the continuing spread. The outbreak at San Quentin came after CDCR transferred...Read More

SF Public Defender Mano Raju spoke on the Sana G Morning Show on KMEL in the wake of nationwide calls to defund the police as the Black Lives Matter movement and millions of Americans took to the streets in the wake of recent police killings, including the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, and the...Read More

Public Defenders Call for Major Statewide Police Reform June 25, 2020 – Public Defenders sent this letter to Governor Newsom and California Lawmakers today calling for major statewide police reforms, seeking “meaningful, radical change” in line with the movement of the moment.  Download the full letter here: Public-Defenders-Recommendations-for-CA-Policing-ReformDownloadRead More

ICE CONFIRMS MEDICAL PROVIDER AT MESA VERDE DETENTION CENTER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, EXPOSING ITS CONTINUED FAILURE TO PROTECT HEALTH DURING PANDEMIC SAN FRANCISCO – On June 19, 2020, government lawyers disclosed that a medical provider at the Mesa Verde Detention Center in Bakersfield, CA, tested positive for COVID-19. The disclosure came at a hearing...Read More

Photo: Donis with his youngest of three children and his wife, following his release by court order. Judge Orders ICE to Maintain Pandemic Protections at Detention Centers SAN FRANCISCO — This afternoon a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in response to a class action legal challenge by immigrants detained at two California immigration detention...Read More