SAN FRANCISCO — Today, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office will begin filing motions to seek the immediate release of all clients being held pre-trial in San Francisco county jails who are at heightened risk of illness from the virus.  People at heightened risk for the...Read More

Public defender calls for measures to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in jail By Michael Barba – San Francisco Examiner As the number of coronavirus cases rises in San Francisco, Public Defender Manohar Raju has called on the sheriff to provide a full accounting of the steps being taken to prevent an outbreak from spreading among...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 5, 2020 –  This morning, all charges were dismissed against Kenneth Ofigho, 31, a former employee of Edgewood Center, who has consistently maintained his innocence after being wrongly accused of inappropriately touching a minor in April 2019.  The charges were dismissed after a lengthy review of all the evidence, including the lack...Read More

San Francisco– On election day, Tuesday March 3, federal immigration agents arrested a San Francisco resident in front of the courthouse steps of 850 Bryant Street as he was entering criminal court for a hearing. ICE agents acted without a judicial warrant and therefore in violation of state law. The San Francisco Public Defender and...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On February 27, 2020, in front of a crowd of over 300 people at Brava Theater, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju took his oath of office and pledged his service to the community as part of the annual Black History Month Celebration of the Public Defender’s Office. His oath was...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On February 25, 2020, a jury acquitted a former Lyft driver, Vincent Perrault, 46, of assault charges related to an incident in which he acted in self-defense when confronted in the street by intoxicated passengers whom he asked to exit his car around 2:00am on December 27, 2016, after they were...Read More

How long must S.F. wait to root out police corruption? By Mano Raju, Public Defender of San Francisco Open Forum – SF Chronicle – February 6, 2020 Over a year ago, California finally acknowledged the public’s right to know about police corruption in our communities. Specifically, SB 1421 made public all records of police dishonesty,...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – On January 31, 2020, a jury acquitted Troylene Trammell, 57, of vehicular manslaughter, finding Ms. Trammell was not negligent. The tragic accident on a March 2017 night took the life of a woman crossing an unregulated crosswalk at Mission and Ney Streets. Jurors learned that the crosswalk was positioned mid-block, with no...Read More

This ground-breaking decision marks the first time a federal judge in California held that the government must justify detention in initial immigration bond hearings. San Francisco, California — On January 23, 2020, Federal Judge Edward Davila for the Northern District of California ruled that the government’s 2018 bond proceeding for Mario Ixchop Perez, a father...Read More

SF police union calls for federal prosecution of man shot by police By Michael Barba – SF Examiner – Jan. 27, 2020 San Francisco’s police union urged federal authorities to intervene Monday after newly elected District Attorney Chesa Boudin halted the prosecution of a man shot by police in the Mission. On Friday, Boudin withdrew...Read More