Efforts currently coordinated by the Safe Communities Reentry Council and the San Francisco Reentry Council will be reorganized under the single umbrella of the new formalized Reentry Council and its Subcommittees. The first meeting of the New Reentry Council has been slated for Tuesday June 16.Read More
The second week of the new court has been more of the same. Each day, about five or six cases are scheduled to be heard in court, and most of the cases end up being discharged simply because they aren’t bona fide cases. What I mean by this that they are cases that otherwise would...Read More
You may have heard or read that the new Community “Justice” Center (CJC) opened last week. Based on Brooklyn’s Red Hook Community Justice Center, the CJC is supposed to solve neighborhood problems like drugs, crime, prostitution and theft. The court is a full-fledged court, except that it is situated in the Tenderloin and deals with misdemeanor and...Read More
In April 2006, Kaake was detained by San Francisco Police Officers Peter Richardson and Michael Moody after a supposed informant reported that Kaake was going to make a drug delivery. According to Kaake, an admitted methamphetamine addict, police searched her car without a warrant and found a digital scale, eight empty baggies, and 15 grams...Read More
Teresa Sheehan, 56, was acquitted today of one count of making criminal threats. The jury hung 11-1 in favor of finding her not guilty of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault on a peace officer. Sheehan, who suffers from schizo-affective disorder, was shot six times by San Francisco...Read More
Today, more than 500 community leaders, community and faith-based service providers and formerly incarcerated men and women will gather for San Francisco’s third annual re-entry summit, “Reentry Works.” Re-entry is a term that describes the reintegration of former prisoners back into their community. This year’s summit focuses on the greatest challenge faced by many of...Read More
In a welcome statement for the Third Annual Prisoner Reentry Summit, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) commended San Francisco city leaders for their “innovate work to reduce recidivism” and pledged to create opportunities for former prisoners if elected president.Read More
In the several articles published last week concerning undocumented youths in the juvenile justice system, Chronicle reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken referenced statements taken from a confidential written motion filed by one of my attorneys. In the articles, several statements taken from these filings were framed in quotations. This gave readers the false impression that Deputy...Read More
California has been selected as one of four sites nationally to participate in the Models for Change Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network. The initiative, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is aimed at developing innovative solutions and strategies to better address the legal needs of youth who come into contact with...Read More
On August 23, 2008, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office will co-sponsor the Fifth Annual MAGIC Back-to-School Celebration and Backpack Giveaway. This year, 4,000 backpacks will be distributed to children and youth ages 5-17 in Bayview-Hunter's Point and the Western Addition/Fillmore.Read More
