News and Press Releases

August 15, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office – (628) 249-7946 – pubdef-mediarelations@sfgov.org After Judge Ordered ICE to Test All Detainees and Staff at Mesa Verde, Fifty Percent of Detainees Test Positive for COVID-19 SAN FRANCISCO — In an emergency order late yesterday, federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to test all detained...

August 14, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org SF Public Defender Wins Acquittal in First Trial since COVID-19 Crisis SAN FRANCISCO – On August 13, a man who was held in custody for over a year pre-trial was found not guilty of residential burglary.  This was  the first completed jury trial in San Francisco Superior...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 11, 2020 CONTACT: pubdef-mediarelations@sfgov.org ***PRESS RELEASE*** San Francisco Public Defender Successfully Frees Client; Fights Back Against a Life-in-Prison Charge SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office secured freedom for a man who spent nearly 5 months in jail for an incident wherein he acted in self-defense. The agreed upon plea arrangement to a...

Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle reported: Judge orders Bakersfield immigration holding facility to test all detainees weekly. San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, whose office also represents the detainees, said ICE “continues to demonstrate its failure to act to prevent a COVID crisis, which has devastating consequences to those in its custody.”

Andrea Castillo of the LA Times reported: ICE deliberately limited testing at Bakersfield immigration facility with COVID-19 outbreak. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is part of a class action suit against ICE and GEO Group for conditions in immigration detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with the ACLU of Northern and Southern California, the Lawyers Committee for...