News and Press Releases

September 11, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org  SF Public Defender Mano Raju’s Statement Regarding the Arrest of SF Medical Examiner Lab Analyst   “The arrest of Mr. Volk casts another dark shadow on the credibility of the Medical Examiner’s Office, and I urge the District Attorney to immediately review the thousands of cases and convictions that relied on...

Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury reported: California Supreme Court reinstates bail reform from landmark Humphrey ruling – 2018 appellate decision moved trial judges away from ensuring court appearances with fixed bail schedules, toward non-cash alternatives. Excerpt: In lauding the Humphrey ruling, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju also said the remaining question of the case before the high...

Megan Cassidy of the San Francisco Chronicle reported: San Francisco to close crumbling, unsafe county jail sooner than expected in face of coronavirus threat. “The closure of County Jail 4 has been a long time coming,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who linked the jail’s closure to broader criminal justice reform efforts.“The COVID-19 crisis, coupled with the national...

Robert Salonga interviewed SF Public Defender Mano Raju for the San Jose Mercury article: Attorney General asks California Supreme Court to restore Humphrey bail-reform ruling. California Attorney General Javier Beccera sent a letter asking the Calfornia Supreme Court to restore a landmark 2018 appellate ruling in the Humphrey case – which requires judges to take ability-to-pay into consideration when setting...

Lawyers for nearly 50 men incarcerated at San Quentin sue over ‘botched transfer,’ demand release By Lisa Fernandez, KTVU FOX 2, August 17, 2020 As of Monday, San Quentin had about 3,100 people in custody and San Francisco Asst. Public Defender Danica Rodarmel said she wanted that number to drop to at least 1,550. To date, 26 people at San...