News and Press Releases

San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Files Complaint with the Commission on Judicial Performance Regarding Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman On July 14, 2022, the Public Defender’s Office filed a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Performance against San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman for repeatedly and gratuitously using the N-word in full in open court. Claiming he needed a complete...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Supervisors Urge Governor Newsom to Pardon LGBTQ Man in ICE Custody SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution urging Governor Newsom to pardon Salesh (“Sal”) Prasad who is being represented in his deportation case...

**PRESS STATEMENT** SF Public Defender Mano Raju’s Statement on Appointment of New District Attorney SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, Mayor London Breed announced she will be appointing Brooke Jenkins as the interim District Attorney of San Francisco. In response, Mano Raju, the elected Public Defender of San Francisco, issues the following statement: “I look forward to engaging interim District Attorney Jenkins...

Sam Levin of The Guardian interviewed Salesh “Sal” Prasad, a client of our Immigration Defense Unit, who is an LGBTQ artist and activist who was granted parole after transforming his life in prison, but never got a taste of his hard-earned freedom because prison officials transferred him directly into ICE custody. He’s spent the last 10 months in ICE detention,...

On June 27, 2022, the SF Examiner published this Op Ed – What happens when San Francisco and other cities drastically underfund public defender offices – by San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. Click through to read the full Opinion. Excerpt: As trusted advocates for our clients, public defenders are the best positioned out of all justice and safety agencies...