News and Press Releases

San Francisco, CA – On December 3, 2008, after two and a half hours of deliberation, Cristino Ortiz, 42, was acquitted of three counts of lewd acts on a child under 14. Ortiz was the live-in boyfriend of the mother of two girls, aged 11 and 12. On the day of the incident in question, the girls were completing cleaning...

A client guide to the criminal justice system, explains the process and what one can expect from their appointed public defender.

San Francisco, CA – On Wednesday, November 19, Redai Meresa was found not guilty of misdemeanor grand theft after 40 minutes of jury deliberation. After working his typical ten hour day, Redai Meresa was headed home when he attempted to help a seemingly poor, homeless man with an alcohol problem. The man had $30 protruding from his left breast pocket....

Today, more than 500 community leaders, community and faith-based service providers and formerly incarcerated men and women will gather for San Francisco’s third annual re-entry summit, “Reentry Works.” Re-entry is a term that describes the reintegration of former prisoners back into their community. This year’s summit focuses on the greatest challenge faced by many of the 9,500 former prisoners who...

San Francisco, CA – On Monday September 29, 2008, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Public Defender Jeff Adachi, District Attorney Kamala Harris, and Sheriff Michael Hennessey will convene at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for the largest reentry summit in Northern California. The Summit was organized to tackle the problem of parolee recidivism, a main contributing factor to San Francisco’s...