News and Press Releases

San Francisco, CA – Demetrius Hill, 20, was acquitted yesterday afternoon of first degree murder in connection with the May 3, 2008 shooting death of Ajason Black, 32, in the parking lot of the Buchanan YMCA on Geary Boulevard. Deputy Public Defender Mark Iverson, who represented Hill, successfully argued at trial that Hill had no motive to kill Black, police...

San Francisco, CA – San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi on Thursday promised cooperation with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd’s call for an audit of the public defender’s office, but accused Elsbernd of engaging in petty retaliatory politics that are wasting valuable resources. “I think that this unnecessary audit will result in an incredible waste of staff hours, for both the Controller’s...

"There is no way for a single person to know the identity of every gang member in the Mission. How can we punish a person for standing with people he has no reason to believe he is prohibited from associating with?” said Deputy Public Defender Lopez.

In April 2006, Kaake was detained by San Francisco Police Officers Peter Richardson and Michael Moody after a supposed informant reported that Kaake was going to make a drug delivery. According to Kaake, an admitted methamphetamine addict, police searched her car without a warrant and found a digital scale, eight empty baggies, and 15 grams of methamphetamine in a CD...

San Francisco, CA – The City’s refusal to provide cost-effective legal representation to indigent criminal defendants will force the Public Defender’s Office to turn away select homicide and other serious cases, as of February 1, 2009. The Public Defender’s action comes in response to the denial of City funding for two vacant paralegal positions. The cost to replace the two...