News and Press Releases

A senior citizen whose fishing trip turned into a nightmare after a younger man beat him and urinated into his bait bucket was acting in self-defense when he stabbed his assailant, a jury found Wednesday afternoon.

A father accused of spinning ‘donuts’ with his car before plunging the vehicle into the Bay and a moped-rider charged with head-butting a Lexus driver were acquitted in separate cases Tuesday afternoon, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

San Francisco, CA — A man accused of flying into a violent rage after discovering a couple having an illicit tryst in his home was cleared of all charges Monday afternoon following a jury trial.   Jury members deliberated a day and a half before finding San Francisco resident Ricardo Politron-Sanchez, 43, not guilty of battery on a cohabitant and...

San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office today filed a legal challenge in the first of hundreds of driving under the influence convictions tainted by improperly-tested field sobriety equipment.   The case involves a man who entered a no contest plea Nov. 7 to one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. He was sentenced to five...

San Francisco, CA — Public Defender Jeff Adachi and District Attorney George Gascón are investigating cases where Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) devices were used by the San Francisco Police Department when arresting a suspect for driving under the influence. Since the mid-1990’s, the SF Police Department has used PAS devices to administer breath tests to motorists suspected of driving under...