San Francisco, CA — A young man was acquitted of attempted murder charges on February 17, 2012, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. Terence Singleton, 25, was acquitted of attempted murder charges.  If convicted of the original charges, he would have been sentenced to life in prison. Instead, the jury deliberated for only an...Read More

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is celebrating its 90th Anniversary, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. In 1921, the California Legislature passed the Public Defender Act after Clara Foltz, California’s first female lawyer, spent years advocating for the creation of Public Defenders’ offices to provide legal assistance to poor people in criminal law...Read More

San Francisco, CA — A young man who was accused of theft of an iPhone was acquitted on November 16, 2011, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. Ronnie Morrisette, 26, was acquitted of robbery, assault, false imprisonment, and four lesser charges. After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for less than a day before...Read More

San Francisco, CA — Revealing evidence of a fabricated police report, excessive force against a blameless merchant, and police theft, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi today called on the SFPD to: (1) launch an immediate investigation into new reports of police misconduct, and (2) to institute a zero tolerance policy for officers who steal...Read More

Introduction Each year, the San Francisco Public Defender provides two trial college training opportunities to its attorneys and to members of the criminal defense bar.   The event is not open to the public, law students, prosecutors, or law enforcement. The office believes there is no better way to learn than by doing.  As such, our...Read More

  The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is proud to present the 2011 Justice Summit: Justice By The Book. Schedule: 9:00 am: Registration 9:30 am: Panel I: By the Book: Authors on Criminal Justice 11:15 am: Panel II: The Ethics of Law Enforcement: Preventing the Abuse of Power 12:30 pm: Lunch 1:30 pm: Panel III:...Read More

San Francisco's impending $522 million budget deficit may come with a silver lining: It may finally force San Francisco city leaders and the electorate to make the tough decisions needed to turn things around.Read More

The Clean Slate Program, one of San Francisco's original reentry programs, was established in 1999. Since then, Public Defender Jeff Adachi has continued his commitment by providing ongoing legal representation to help individuals with clearing up their criminal history records.Read More

The Public Defender’s Office will receive an annual $80,000 grant from the Metta Fund for two years to hire a social worker who will provide additional support for Public Defender clients with major mental illness in finding and maintaining employment and eliminating barriers to employment.Read More

While Proposition A, titled “Budget Reform,” takes a few steps toward changing the current process by which our city’s annual budget is decided, it falls far short of the reforms necessary to address our city’s long-term fiscal health.Read More