**MEDIA ADVISORY** The State of Public Defense During a Crime-Focused Election Year  On Gideon Day, public defense chiefs from across the U.S. will hold a virtual press briefing to commemorate the establishment of an accused person’s right to counsel and to challenge misleading narratives about crime WHAT: Public Defender chiefs from across the United States...Read More

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office stands by Deputy Public Defender Ilona Yañez, who was the subject of a recent misleading and erroneous report by ABC7 News’s Dan Noyes. The report omitted several key facts, misled viewers about the law and unfairly sought to impugn Ms. Yañez’s reputation. In publishing the story, ABC 7 News...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23.2024 MEDIA CONTACT: PDR-MediaRelations@sfgov.org  **PRESS RELEASE** Coalition to End Biased Stops Applauds SF Police Commission Vote to Implement Policy to Curb Racially-Biased Police Stops SAN FRANCISCO – On Wednesday night, the San Francisco Police Commission voted to enact an historic policy (Department General Order 9.07) to curb SFPD’s use of racially-biased pretext stops. This...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 7, 2024 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Jessie Seyfer |  PDR-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | (415) 851-2212 **PRESS RELEASE** Traffic Safety, Civil Rights Groups Urge SF Police Commission to Override Police Union’s Stalling and Enact Policy Limiting Racially-Biased Pretext Stops   SAN FRANCISCO – The Coalition to End Biased Stops, a coalition of more than 110 civil rights, traffic...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2024 MEDIA CONTACT: PDR-MediaRelations@sfgov.org  **PRESS RELEASE** SF Jury Acquits Man Wrongly Accused of Commercial Burglary and Possession of Stolen Property SAN FRANCISCO – On Jan. 24, a San Francisco jury found David Wesser, 37, not guilty of felony charges related to a commercial burglary that took place in July. Deputy...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2024 MEDIA CONTACT: PDR-MediaRelations@sfgov.org **PRESS RELEASE** SF Jury Acquits Young Black Man Who Was Racially Profiled and Falsely Accused  SAN FRANCISCO – On Jan. 11, a San Francisco jury acquitted Trevon Morgan, 21, after just 45 minutes of deliberations, of a baseless felony charge of attempted robbery of a man’s...Read More