Effort to Release People Incarcerated at San Quentin Moves Forward In Marin County Superior Court  Habeas petitions allege that California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation actions constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” as decisions led to an explosive and deadly Covid-19 outbreak at San Quentin  SAN FRANCISCO – A Marin County Superior Court judge has ordered the...Read More

Broad Coalition of Legal and Medical Experts Urge SF Courts to Restore ‘Zero Bail’ Amid Growing Number of COVID-19 Cases in SF Jails  SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco County jail has seen a 40% increase in positive COVID-19 cases since June 18, 2020.  This surge prompted a broad coalition – including the Bar Association of San...Read More

July 6, 2020 Dear Governor Newsom, This is an immeasurably difficult time. With 2,419 incarcerated persons with active cases ofCOVID-19 in California prisons statewide and over 1,500 people who are incarcerated or work inSan Quentin testing positive, I am strongly urging you to exercise your authority to release peoplefrom California’s overcrowded prisons and to take...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – With 2,582 incarcerated persons with active cases of COVID-19 in California prisons statewide, and over 1,100 people incarcerated in San Quentin testing positive, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is mobilizing to free people as quickly as possible to prevent the continuing spread. The outbreak at San Quentin came after CDCR transferred...Read More

Public Defenders Call for Major Statewide Police Reform June 25, 2020 – Public Defenders sent this letter to Governor Newsom and California Lawmakers today calling for major statewide police reforms, seeking “meaningful, radical change” in line with the movement of the moment.  Download the full letter here: Public-Defenders-Recommendations-for-CA-Policing-ReformDownloadRead More

ICE CONFIRMS MEDICAL PROVIDER AT MESA VERDE DETENTION CENTER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, EXPOSING ITS CONTINUED FAILURE TO PROTECT HEALTH DURING PANDEMIC SAN FRANCISCO – On June 19, 2020, government lawyers disclosed that a medical provider at the Mesa Verde Detention Center in Bakersfield, CA, tested positive for COVID-19. The disclosure came at a hearing...Read More

SF Public Defender Mano Raju Applauds SF Police Commission Budget Vote – Echoes Public Call for Fundamental Change  “I was very glad to see our San Francisco Police Commissioners unanimously voting to reject the police budget at 2:30am this morning after 9 hours of public comment, over 99 percent of which featured San Franciscans of...Read More

Photo: Donis with his youngest of three children and his wife, following his release by court order. Judge Orders ICE to Maintain Pandemic Protections at Detention Centers SAN FRANCISCO — This afternoon a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in response to a class action legal challenge by immigrants detained at two California immigration detention...Read More

SF PUBLIC DEFENDER MANO RAJU CALLS FOR MAJOR REFORMS AFTER VIDEO SURFACES SHOWING SFPD OFFICER WITH KNEE ON TEENAGER’S NECK  The country is mourning after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man accused of a nonviolent offense.  What happened to George Floyd is happening all over the United States with miserable...Read More

Court Finds Likely Constitutional Violation in ICE’S Detention of Immigrants in Two Cramped Detention Centers during Pandemic; Order Establishes Process for Court to Consider Releases of Detained Immigrants SAN FRANCISCO — In an emergency order, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order in response to a challenge by immigrants detained at two California immigration...Read More