News and Press Releases

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi will ask supervisors on Wednesday to allow him to fill seven vacant positions in his office--a move that could save the cash-strapped city $926,000 while ensuring equal justice for San Francisco’s poorest residents.

San Francisco's impending $522 million budget deficit may come with a silver lining: It may finally force San Francisco city leaders and the electorate to make the tough decisions needed to turn things around.

The Clean Slate Program, one of San Francisco's original reentry programs, was established in 1999. Since then, Public Defender Jeff Adachi has continued his commitment by providing ongoing legal representation to help individuals with clearing up their criminal history records.

The Public Defender’s Office will receive an annual $80,000 grant from the Metta Fund for two years to hire a social worker who will provide additional support for Public Defender clients with major mental illness in finding and maintaining employment and eliminating barriers to employment.

While Proposition A, titled “Budget Reform,” takes a few steps toward changing the current process by which our city’s annual budget is decided, it falls far short of the reforms necessary to address our city’s long-term fiscal health.