SAN FRANCISCO – Paul Addis, once accused of attempting to set fire to San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral has been released from custody after pleading no contest to reduced misdemeanor charges. Addis had originally been charged with a felony count of attempted arson, felony charges of possessing explosives and incendiary devices, and a misdemeanor count...Read More

As published in  The Recorder, February 4, 2008. by Evan Hill Prompted by a case out of the public defender’s office, a San Francisco supervisor is pushing to change the rules on accessing the city’s surveillance camera footage. Gerardo Sandoval, a former deputy public defender, presented the legislation to the board on Jan. 8, but off-stage...Read More

As published in The Recorder, December 18, 2007. By Mike McKee. Eighteen years after Dennis Lawley was sentenced to death, evidence literally unearthed last week in a field outside Modesto could bolster defense lawyers’ argument that their client is truly innocent. Scott Kauffman, a staff attorney at the San Francisco-based California Appellate Project, confirmed Monday...Read More

San Francisco, CA – John M., 23 years old, was acquitted yesterday of robbery and aggravated assault with great bodily harm stemming from an incident in which he was accused of physically attacking and turning his dog on the complaining witness, Adam McFarland. Each count constituted a strike, and the charges carried a potential sentence...Read More

San Francisco, CA – The preliminary hearing of Omeed Aziz Popal, 30, is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. on November 7, 2007, at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, Dept. 20. Popal is facing attempted murder charges in connection with a series of alleged hit-and-run incidents that injured eighteen people in San Francisco...Read More

City attorney uses controversial tool against gang violence, a move critics and gang members say may do more harm than good. By Dan Verel San Francisco Bay Guardian, October 3, 2007 Read the rest of this article here.Read More