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

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

August 17, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628) 249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org Petitioners Allege CDCR Purposefully Ignored Marin County Health Official Warnings about Dangers at San Quentin; Over 400 pages of Evidence Presented  Habeas petitions allege CDCR actions causing explosive and deadly Covid-19 outbreak at San Quentin constitute “cruel and unusual punishment”  SAN...Read More

August 15, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office – (628) 249-7946 – pubdef-mediarelations@sfgov.org After Judge Ordered ICE to Test All Detainees and Staff at Mesa Verde, Fifty Percent of Detainees Test Positive for COVID-19 SAN FRANCISCO — In an emergency order late yesterday, federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...Read More

August 14, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org SF Public Defender Wins Acquittal in First Trial since COVID-19 Crisis SAN FRANCISCO – On August 13, a man who was held in custody for over a year pre-trial was found not guilty of residential burglary.  This was  the first completed jury...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 11, 2020 CONTACT: pubdef-mediarelations@sfgov.org ***PRESS RELEASE*** San Francisco Public Defender Successfully Frees Client; Fights Back Against a Life-in-Prison Charge SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office secured freedom for a man who spent nearly 5 months in jail for an incident wherein he acted in self-defense. The agreed...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  August 6, 2020  Media Contacts  Sam Lew, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area slew@lccrsf.org, 415-272-8022  Valerie Ibarra, San Francisco Public Defenders valerie.ibarra@sfgov.org, 628-249-7946 American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493 American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California communications@aclusocal.org, (626) 755-4129 ***PRESS RELEASE*** Judge Orders ICE...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 3, 2020 Contact:         Public Defender’s Office, Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org  Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org  ***PRESS RELEASE*** MAYOR LONDON BREED AND PUBLIC DEFENDER MANO RAJU ANNOUNCE YOUNG DEFENDERS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Paid internship program, created in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Human Rights Commission, and Teachers 4 Social Justice, provides...Read More