News and Press Releases

ICE CONFIRMS MEDICAL PROVIDER AT MESA VERDE DETENTION CENTER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, EXPOSING ITS CONTINUED FAILURE TO PROTECT HEALTH DURING PANDEMIC SAN FRANCISCO – On June 19, 2020, government lawyers disclosed that a medical provider at the Mesa Verde Detention Center in Bakersfield, CA, tested positive for COVID-19. The disclosure came at a hearing in connection with a class...

SF Public Defender Mano Raju Applauds SF Police Commission Budget Vote – Echoes Public Call for Fundamental Change  “I was very glad to see our San Francisco Police Commissioners unanimously voting to reject the police budget at 2:30am this morning after 9 hours of public comment, over 99 percent of which featured San Franciscans of all ages and backgrounds demanding...

Photo: Donis with his youngest of three children and his wife, following his release by court order. Judge Orders ICE to Maintain Pandemic Protections at Detention Centers SAN FRANCISCO — This afternoon a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in response to a class action legal challenge by immigrants detained at two California immigration detention centers where conditions are rife...

Employees with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds on Monday outside the Hall of Justice in honor of George Floyd — an unarmed black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police two weeks ago. The action, organized by the office’s Racial Justice Committee, was part of a nationwide day of solidarity...

SF PUBLIC DEFENDER MANO RAJU CALLS FOR MAJOR REFORMS AFTER VIDEO SURFACES SHOWING SFPD OFFICER WITH KNEE ON TEENAGER’S NECK  The country is mourning after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man accused of a nonviolent offense.  What happened to George Floyd is happening all over the United States with miserable regularity. Anyone paying attention can...