News and Press Releases

The Adachi Project to honor late S.F. public defender with creative initiative On February 4, 2021, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office launched a unique storytelling partnership with Compound and Even/Odd to honor the legacy of the late Public Defender and award-winning filmmaker Jeff Adachi. This creative initiative illuminates powerful stories and unseen perspectives of the U.S. criminal legal system...

Date: February 4, 2021 / Media Contact: Valerie Ibarra (628)249-7946 Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org SF Public Defender Launches ‘The Adachi Project’ First-of-Its-Kind Media Initiative Spotlights Public Defenders and Underrepresented Perspectives of theCriminal Legal System in Tribute to Late-Public Defender and Filmmaker Jeff Adachi SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office launched “The Adachi Project”, a first-of-its-kind storytelling initiative that illuminates...

‘They Didn’t Listen to Us’: ICE Detainee Who Waged Hunger Strikes for COVID-19 Protections Gets Virus Our 20-year-old client, Juan Jose Erazo Romero, who fled violence in El Salvador as a teenager and is being held by ICE at the Yuba County Jail Immigration Detention facility, has gone on multiple hunger strikes to protest the unsafe conditions. Despite federal court...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 13, 2021 MEDIA CONTACTS: Valerie Ibarra – San Francisco Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org; Lindsey Hortenstine – New Orleans Public Defender’s Office – (404)520-3087 – LHortenstine@opdla.org; Bob McGovern, Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services, rmcgovern@publiccounsel.net;  Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Public Defenders Nationwide Announce Plan for Immigration Justice, Provide Ten-Point Plan to Biden Administration...

ICE Ordered To Protect Detainees From COVID-19 In Calif. Jail Jennifer Doherty in Law360 reported on the latest in the Zepeda-Rivas joint class action lawsuit against ICE. Federal Judge Vincent Chhabria extended court oversight of ICE over their ongoing failure and avoidance to plan and carry out safety protocols to protect people’s health at the Mesa Verde Immigration Detention center...