September 24, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org  Public Defender Mano Raju Responds to City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s Decision to File Civil Injunctions Against 28 Individuals “I agree that drug use in the Tenderloin is a serious public health issue that negatively affects residents, many of whom are clients of my office,...Read More

September 24, 2020 PRESS CONTACTS: Valerie Ibarra – SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org; Treasurer’s Office/Financial Justice Project – (415) 596-6138 – Anne.Stuhldreher@sfgov.org California Becomes the First State in the Nation to End Collection of Fees in the Criminal Legal System  San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros and Public Defender Mano Raju applaud Governor...Read More

September 23, 2020 PRESS CONTACTS: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org; Gala King – Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity – (510)759-4196 – GKing@im4humanintegrity.org SF Board of Supervisors Unanimously Passes Resolution Urging Governor Newsom to Pardon Immigrant Rights Leader Charles Joseph SAN FRANCISCO  – Last night, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed...Read More

KQED’s Julie Small reported: Lots of Drugs, Lax Oversight: Former SF Medical Examiner Staffers Say Lab Analyst’s Meth Arrest ‘Just the Tip of the Iceberg’. In light of the arrest of an SF lab analyst in Utah, where he was found with illicit drugs in an “evidence” bag from the Medical Examiner’s Office, San Francisco...Read More

September 11, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org  SF Public Defender Mano Raju’s Statement Regarding the Arrest of SF Medical Examiner Lab Analyst   “The arrest of Mr. Volk casts another dark shadow on the credibility of the Medical Examiner’s Office, and I urge the District Attorney to immediately review the thousands of cases...Read More

Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury reported: California Supreme Court reinstates bail reform from landmark Humphrey ruling – 2018 appellate decision moved trial judges away from ensuring court appearances with fixed bail schedules, toward non-cash alternatives. Excerpt: In lauding the Humphrey ruling, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju also said the remaining question of...Read More

Megan Cassidy of the San Francisco Chronicle reported: San Francisco to close crumbling, unsafe county jail sooner than expected in face of coronavirus threat. “The closure of County Jail 4 has been a long time coming,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who linked the jail’s closure to broader criminal justice reform efforts.“The COVID-19...Read More

Robert Salonga interviewed SF Public Defender Mano Raju for the San Jose Mercury article: Attorney General asks California Supreme Court to restore Humphrey bail-reform ruling. California Attorney General Javier Beccera sent a letter asking the Calfornia Supreme Court to restore a landmark 2018 appellate ruling in the Humphrey case – which requires judges to take...Read More

Lawyers for nearly 50 men incarcerated at San Quentin sue over ‘botched transfer,’ demand release By Lisa Fernandez, KTVU FOX 2, August 17, 2020 As of Monday, San Quentin had about 3,100 people in custody and San Francisco Asst. Public Defender Danica Rodarmel said she wanted that number to drop to at least 1,550. To...Read More

KQED’s Farida Jhabvala Romero interviewed Deputy Public Defender Emi MacLean for the report: Half of All Detainees at Bakersfield ICE Facility Have Tested Positive For COVID-19. This outbreak was discovered after a federal judge ordered weekly coronavirus testing at the Mesa Verde immigrant detention center. But immigration officials opted for slower testing that did not...Read More