Danielle Harris, Managing Attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Integrity Unit, appeared in this in-depth interview with Al Jazeera – US: Why are people trapped in prison with COVID-19? She appeared alongside James King of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Adnan Khan on RE-Store Justice, both of whom were formerly...Read More

October 28, 2020  PRESS CONTACT: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org SF Public Defender’s Office Wins Acquittal for Client Accused of Carjacking and Robbery SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, a jury acquitted a client of the Public Defender of all carjacking and robbery charges stemming from an incident in May. The jury found that Valentine...Read More

Michael Barba of the San Francisco Examiner reported: SF jail closure prompts doctor to call for release of more inmates. “We have to defer to Dr. Pratt’s medical and public health expertise and experience as to the number of people the jail can safely house,” said Danielle Harris, a managing attorney at the Public Defender’s...Read More

Michael Barba of the San Francisco Examiner reported: Audit over lab worker meth arrest finds medical examiner is missing drugs. “Clearly, their security protocols around handling evidence have been lax, which means that an untold number of criminal cases have likely been compromised by their carelessness,” Raju said. “People are likely in jail or prison...Read More

Lisa Fernandez of KTVU FOX 2 News reported: Appeals court orders San Quentin to reduce population citing ‘deliberate indifference’ over virus. She interviewed Danica Rodarmel, statewide policy director for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, who is one of the attorneys working on a separate case of habeas corpus on behalf of over 300 petitioners...Read More

KQED’s Farida Jhabvala Romero reported: ICE Misusing Solitary Confinement for COVID-19 Quarantine, Detainees Say. The story features Alton Edmonson, a client of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Immigration Unit, who maintains his innocence despite a plea deal he took in relation to a November 2018 arrest in Nevada County, CA, which led to consequences...Read More

October 1, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org SF Public Defender Mano Raju’s Statement on Criminal Justice Reform Bills Signed by Governor Newsom “In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a shortened legislative session, and a powerful national grassroots movement demanding systemic change in the criminal legal system, my...Read More

SF Chronicle reporters Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone reported: S.F. lab scandal: Management lowered standards prior to analyst’s meth bust. “The fact that the head of the toxicology lab pushed to lower the standards for his own job description is emblematic of the lowering of standards of the Medical Examiner’s Office across the board,” Raju...Read More

SF Chronicle reporters Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone report: SF public defender calls for firing of chief medical examiner. “Hart is not a credible witness and the truth-seeking function of the court process is thwarted,” Raju wrote in the complaint, which he addressed to Mayor London Breed, as well as the California Medical Board president...Read More

Nancy Chan reported in the San Francisco Examiner: SF City Attorney seeks to bar 28 alleged drug dealers from the Tenderloin. “More enforcement of low-level, subsistence street level sellers is not the solution to this ongoing public health crisis,” Raju said. “Rather, we should use our resources to provide meaningful alternatives to street level dealers...Read More