by Jeff Adachi Now that it has been operational for three months, the Community Justice Center (CJC) should be evaluated based upon a factual and empirical analysis of objective data from the cases that have been heard in the court.  With the upcoming budget hearings focusing on the city’s dire financial situation, there will no...Read More

One of the ongoing debates of late surrounding the Community Justice Court concerns the question of how to force a person to change their behavior. The CJC might be viewed as a social experiment to determine whether coercion is effective in changing behavior. Will an alcohol addicted person who is hailed into court for passing...Read More

by Jeff Adachi There hasn’t been a lot happening at the Community Justice Center, so I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks.  There is no surge of cases to report.  The caseload flow is still very low, and although the court is now handling “in-custody” cases at the Hall of Justice in the mornings,...Read More

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi recently announced that his office will be compelled to refuse appointments in some major felony cases under a 25 percent budget cut proposed by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors. Critics suggest that Adachi is being unreasonable and that he is not a "team player." Adachi's stand...Read More

The fact that the criminal justice system is, at times, unjust in its outcomes is rarely questioned. Only in the extreme cases, where a person is wrongfully imprisoned for a serious crime, will there be some coverage in the media. But day-to-day injustices are rarely exposed. Because of this, often the public is unaware of...Read More

Budget cuts and soaring caseloads are pushing teetering public defender's offices closer to the brink of collapse. However, after years of being under-resourced and overwhelmed, public defenders are finally pushing back.Read More

In the landmark 1963 case Gideon v. Wainwright, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a poor person accused of a crime is entitled to competent and effective legal representation. However, the current economic crisis, rising recession-related crime, and soaring unemployment rates threaten to erode this basic right, which is guaranteed by the U.S. and California...Read More

San Francisco – The California Public Defender’s Association announced that San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi will receive the organization’s annual Program of the Year award on Friday, April 17, 2009.  Adachi is receiving the award for his office’s innovative work though the “The Children of Incarcerated Parents” program, which provides assistance and services to...Read More

It is hard to believe that a month has gone by since I started working at the CJC. My decision to staff the court myself was a product of necessity, since I just don't have the staffing for this court. The Mayor's office had originally promised to fund the court with two public defenders, and...Read More

“There’s a new Sheriff at the CJC.”  Well, actually, not really.  Our regular judge is out of town on vacation, and we have a substitute judge at the CJC for a few weeks.  At our first morning meeting with the substitute judge, the first thing he wanted to know is what problems we were having...Read More