News and Press Releases

On August 23, 2008, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office will co-sponsor the Fifth Annual MAGIC Back-to-School Celebration and Backpack Giveaway. This year, 4,000 backpacks will be distributed to children and youth ages 5-17 in Bayview-Hunter's Point and the Western Addition/Fillmore.

KQED’s “Forum,” with Michael Krasny, takes up the issue of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system. “Forum” looks at new programs designed to help police and the courts avoid dangerous confrontations with the mentally ill. These programs are designed to steer the mentally ill toward treatment, instead of a life of incarceration. Visit their site here. Judge Mary...

Omeed Aziz Popal, 31, was found not guilty by reason of insanity by Judge Carol Yaggy today, at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street. Popal was facing attempted murder charges in connection with a series of alleged hit-and-run incidents involving sixteen people in San Francisco on August 29, 2006.

The recent news stories criticizing the city's juvenile probation department for sending undocumented children home instead of handing them over to the federal immigration authorities has ignited a firestorm of negative attacks. However, the stories missed a key fact: the city's practice of transporting youth home was enacted with the full knowledge and cooperation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service...

The felony case against DeAndre Barney was dismissed on July 10, 2008 after he was proven factually innocent of armed robbery based on San Francisco community safety camera evidence. Video footage showed that the car Barney was driving was not the getaway car, as alleged by police. Barney was represented by Deputy Public Defender Randall Martin.