News and Press Releases

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...

San Francisco, CA — A man who was attacked in his home by two men, one of them wielding dual broken bottles, was acquitted of murder charges on February 23, Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. Phuc Le, 44, the son of a U.S. serviceman who came to this country through the Amerasian Homecoming Act was found not guilty after two...

San Francisco, CA — A young man was acquitted of attempted murder charges on February 17, 2012, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. Terence Singleton, 25, was acquitted of attempted murder charges.  If convicted of the original charges, he would have been sentenced to life in prison. Instead, the jury deliberated for only an hour before finding him not...

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is celebrating its 90th Anniversary, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. In 1921, the California Legislature passed the Public Defender Act after Clara Foltz, California’s first female lawyer, spent years advocating for the creation of Public Defenders’ offices to provide legal assistance to poor people in criminal law cases. Later in 1921, responding...

San Francisco, CA — A young man who was accused of theft of an iPhone was acquitted on November 16, 2011, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced. Ronnie Morrisette, 26, was acquitted of robbery, assault, false imprisonment, and four lesser charges. After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for less than a day before reaching unanimous acquittals on all...