News and Press Releases

On April 27, 2023, the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee is holding a Special Session to discuss this year’s state bills related to fentanyl. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office joins a coalition of 35+ statewide organizations and agencies that have signed onto a letter to the Committee Members urging them to reject these bills, invest in harm reduction,...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2023MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | Jessie.Seyfer@sfgov.org | (415) 851-2212  **PRESS STATEMENT** San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Urges District Attorney to Drop Charges Against Unhoused Man Who Acted in Self-Defense When Bear Sprayed Evidence shows complaining witness initiated altercation; Video evidence indicates other similar attacks against unhoused individuals occurred in same area...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2023MEDIA CONTACT:  SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | Jessie.Seyfer@sfgov.org | (415) 851-2212  Civil Rights Corps | Cheryl Bonacci | cheryl@civilrightscorps.org | 818-339-6928 **PRESS RELEASE** Civil Rights Corps, San Francisco Public Defender Ask California Supreme Court to Review Challenge to S.F. Court Trial Backlog Nearly 1,000 trials are delayed past their Constitutionally mandated deadline, with...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | PIO Valerie Ibarra | (628) 249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Public Defender Co-Sponsoring State Bills to Increase Fairness and Disrupt Cycles of Harm in Our Criminal Legal System Bill package seeks to increase fairness in jury trials and outcomes of criminal legal proceedings for youth, immigrants, and survivors SAN FRANCISCO –...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 7, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** Second SF Jury Acquits Man Who Gave False Murder Confession to Escape Brutal Florida Prison Conditions SAN FRANCISCO – After a second two-month trial, a San Francisco jury acquitted Roy Lacy on April 6th in connection with a cold case murder from 2000. In 2018, Lacy...