On April 10, a San Francisco jury fully acquitted 38-year-old Pierre Constant of all charges after he spent more than 18 months in jail for an attack in the Tenderloin he did not commit. SFPD officers arrested the wrong person, violated police body-worn camera policies, and mishandled the photo lineup in this case. Prosecutors also...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO—On April 8, 2026, the Court of Appeal stayed enforcement of the $26,000 contempt sanction against San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju imposed by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman. The stay is in effect pending further action by the Superior Court which must first rule on challenges brought by the Public Defender...Read More

Today in SF Superior Court, numerous chief public defenders from across California stood with San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju and his office, reflecting the nationwide efforts by public defenders to demand resources equal to those of prosecutors in criminal courts. At today’s hearing, SF Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman sanctioned Raju by fining him...Read More

On March 10, 2026, S.F. Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman made a finding of contempt against San Francisco’s elected Public Defender Mano Raju after the judge ordered the Public Defender’s Office to take on more cases than would be ethically sound. The judge threatened monetary sanctions to be determined at a hearing on March 24....Read More

The Coalition to End Biased Stops is highlighting new data showing that the S.F. ‘Pretext Stops’ policy has reduced racial profiling. The percentage of Black drivers stopped for non-moving violations (including the nine that are restricted under the pretext stop policy; ex. having a broken taillight) has dropped by 10%. Black drivers are no longer the...Read More

Deputy Public Defender Nuha Abusamra showed a judge SFPD body-worn camera footage, which revealed that SFPD officers had put hands on Leal before he even had a chance to respond to a verbal command. On Oct. 29, a San Francisco judge dismissed charges against Luis Leal, 29, who was arrested on June 8 in front of...Read More

In May 2025, the Public Defender’s Office alerted the Court that we would be declaring unavailable one day per week in misdemeanor cases and select felony matters. This decision reflected the fact that our caseloads far exceeded those of our peers in the Bay Area as well as prevailing caseload standards from the American Bar...Read More