On June 27, 2022, the SF Examiner published this Op Ed – What happens when San Francisco and other cities drastically underfund public defender offices – by San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. Click through to read the full Opinion.
Excerpt:
As trusted advocates for our clients, public defenders are the best positioned out of all justice and safety agencies to help community members transition out of the criminal system for good. Yet we remain the most underfunded agency in the city’s criminal legal system.
As trusted advocates for our clients, public defenders are the best positioned out of all justice and safety agencies to help community members transition out of the criminal system for good. Yet we remain the most underfunded agency in the city’s criminal legal system.
The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office receives about half the amount of funding compared to the District Attorney’s Office. Public defenders receive six times less than the Sheriff’s Department, and 14 times less than the San Francisco Police Department.
This problem of overfunding law enforcement and drastically underfunding public defender offices is not unique to San Francisco. This is a national and long-standing issue that is by design and reflects the racist and classist underpinnings of our criminal system.
San Francisco can and should lead the country in fixing this gross inequity.
