News and Press Releases

SAN FRANCISCO – On November 25, 2019, a San Francisco man, Robert Thomas, was released from the county jail after being wrongfully identified as the perpetrator of an assault. Deputy Public Defender Ilona Solomon, who represented Mr. Thomas, directed the Deputy District Attorney handling the prosecution to compare the photos of the perpetrator with her client, which unequivocally showed Mr. Thomas...

By Tim Redmond – November 19, 2019 – 48Hills.org Four years in prison — for driving without a license? Oakland man arrested in SF faces long prison term — despite a jury finding him not guilty of two felonies. If you want to get a sense of what’s wrong with the criminal justice system in San Francisco, take a look...

SAN FRANCISCO – On Friday, November 15, 2019, a jury found Carlos Gordon not guilty on all counts of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, and a misdemeanor assault. The jury agreed with the defense that Mr. Gordon’s act of tossing a few decorative pebbles in the direction of a construction worker was not a crime, but rather...

SAN FRANCISCO – On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, a jury acquitted a homeless man of two felony charges after police pulled him over at gunpoint for riding a stolen motorcycle on Division Street and San Bruno Avenue at 6pm on June 26, 2019. However, he may still serve four years in prison for driving without a license. Charles Mabrey, 50,...

SF’s failed ‘War on Drugs’ needs innovation to transform the status quo by Hadi Razzaq, Managing Attorney for the Investigation Unit of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office San Francisco has historically responded to street-level drug activity in the same way: periodically cracking down on low-level drug sellers by ramping up policing. But arresting and imprisoning people who sell drugs...