Photo: More than 100 people are still in jail awaiting trial past the last day in which they must be legally brought to trial. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner) The lack of courtroom access in San Francisco is a human rights issue By Mano Raju The murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis...Read More

‘They Didn’t Listen to Us’: ICE Detainee Who Waged Hunger Strikes for COVID-19 Protections Gets Virus Our 20-year-old client, Juan Jose Erazo Romero, who fled violence in El Salvador as a teenager and is being held by ICE at the Yuba County Jail Immigration Detention facility, has gone on multiple hunger strikes to protest the...Read More

Employees with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds on Monday outside the Hall of Justice in honor of George Floyd — an unarmed black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police two weeks ago. The action, organized by the office’s Racial Justice Committee, was part of...Read More

The vote to close down juvenile hall was a historic moment in juvenile justice reform. I am excited and proud to be part of the movement to re-envision this system. These institutions are not rehabilitative. The racial disparities are stark, and the confines of juvenile halls have a harmful effect on youth’s mental and physical...Read More

Newly-appointed Public Defender Manohar Raju is committed to continue to improve the circumstances for our clients, not only post-jail, but also during their time in custody. That’s why we are excited to announce a new partnership with the San Francisco Public Library’s Jail and Reentry Services program (JARS). This program circulates books to people who are...Read More

In celebration of Filipinx American History Month (FAHM) the SF Public Defender’s Office spent their Sunday learning about the roots and history of SOMA Pilipinas, the neighborhood where our office is located. With the help of non-profit community organizers like SOMCAN and SOMA Pilipinas the goal is to keep housing affordable for the indigent clients...Read More

When the presumption of innocence becomes a joke.Read More

Annual Report and calendar highlight year of improving the system.Read More

Here are photos from the recent 2014 Justice Summit held at Koret Auditorium.Read More

What is SB 794? Update #2 -05/19/14: SB 794 has been assigned to the California Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety. Your help is critically needed—now more than ever. Tell state assembly members that our right to a fair trial is too important to lose! Update–1/28/14: SB 794 is headed to the California Assembly after narrowly...Read More