News and Press Releases

November 11, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: Valerie Ibarra – SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 New Documents Reveal ICE and Private Prison Contractor Exacerbates a COVID Outbreak at Immigration Detention Center Hid Risks to Immigrants In Grave Danger Due to COVID Pandemic, Misled Court SAN FRANCISCO – Last night, detained immigrants held at the Mesa Verde ICE detention center, in Bakersfield California,...

November 5, 2020 San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju’s Statement on Election’s Implications for Criminal Justice Reform in California “2020 has been a year of divisive politics and a national reckoning with racism, police brutality, and systemic injustice. However, this week there was consensus across California: voters made clear their desire to continue on a path of meaningful criminal justice...

Danielle Harris, Managing Attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Integrity Unit, appeared in this in-depth interview with Al Jazeera – US: Why are people trapped in prison with COVID-19? She appeared alongside James King of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Adnan Khan on RE-Store Justice, both of whom were formerly incarcerated in San Quentin and...

October 28, 2020  PRESS CONTACT: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org SF Public Defender’s Office Wins Acquittal for Client Accused of Carjacking and Robbery SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, a jury acquitted a client of the Public Defender of all carjacking and robbery charges stemming from an incident in May. The jury found that Valentine Sua, 28, did not “use...

Michael Barba of the San Francisco Examiner reported: SF jail closure prompts doctor to call for release of more inmates. “We have to defer to Dr. Pratt’s medical and public health expertise and experience as to the number of people the jail can safely house,” said Danielle Harris, a managing attorney at the Public Defender’s Office. “The Public Defender’s Office...