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SF Jury Acquits Another Community Member Who Spent One Year in Jail Awaiting Trial

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office |Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Jury Acquits Another Community Member Who Spent One Year in Jail Awaiting Trial Judge wouldn’t release person from jail before trial without a program in place, but no program was available SAN FRANCISCO – Last week, […]

The Guardian: Incarcerated people forced to wait for trials as San Francisco backlog balloons

This piece in The Guardian highlights the continuing humanitarian crisis in San Francisco County jail. Nearly 900 people remain in isolation under 23-hour lockdown, and at least 25% of them are people whose trial deadlines have passed. We are litigating against the trampling of their speedy trial rights caused by ongoing court delays. “These aren’t […]

SF Jury Acquits Man Who Spent 331 Days in Jail, Nearly 8 Months Past his Legal Deadline for Trial

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2022 CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office |Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** SF Jury Acquits Man Who Spent 331 Days in Jail, Nearly 8 Months Past his Legal Deadline for Trial SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, a San Francisco jury acquitted Isaac Tuialuuluu of a felony assault charge after finding that he […]

The Wall Street Journal Examines Court Delays in San Francisco & Nationwide

Reporter Laura Kusisto of the Wall Street Journal interviewed San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju about the legal actions he has taken to address the growing backlog of trials in San Francisco Superior Court during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many other counties have safely held jury trials throughout the pandemic, San Francisco Superior Court has […]

The Golden State Warriors Release PSAs for San Francisco’s “Be The Jury” Pilot Program in SF Superior Court

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 17, 2022 CONTACT: Valerie Ibarra – SF Public Defender’s Office – (628) 249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org Anne Stuhldreher – SF Financial Justice Project – (415) 596-6138 – Anne.Stuhldreher@sfgov.org Rachel Marshall – San Francisco District Attorney’s Office – (415) 416-4468 – Rachel.Marshall@fgov.org  **PRESS RELEASE** The Golden State Warriors Release PSAs for San Francisco’s […]

José Inez García Zárate is Just Another Innocent Man Who Pled Guilty to a Crime He Did Not Commit

Photo credit to Jay Martin. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2022 CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS STATEMENT** From the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office José Inez García Zárate is Just Another Innocent Man Who Pled Guilty to a Crime He Did Not Commit On March 14, 2022, José Inez García […]

José Inez García Zárate is Just Another Innocent Man Who Pled Guilty to a Crime He Did Not Commit

Photo credit to Jay Martin. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2022 CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS STATEMENT** From the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office José Inez García Zárate is Just Another Innocent Man Who Pled Guilty to a Crime He Did Not Commit On March 14, 2022, José Inez García […]

Statement from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office on Governor Newsom’s “Care Court” Proposal

DATE: March 3, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org |(628)249-7946 **PRESS STATEMENT** Statement from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office on Governor Newsom’s “Care Court” Proposal Governor Newsom wants to have a fast solution to a very entrenched problem through his recently announced Care Court proposal. But the reality is that we already have a number of […]

San Francisco to Launch the “Be The Jury” Pilot Program on Monday to Compensate Low-Income Jurors $100 a Day 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 3, 2022 CONTACT: Valerie Ibarra – SF Public Defender’s Office – (628) 249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org Anne Stuhldreher – SF Financial Justice Project – (415) 596-6138 – Anne.Stuhldreher@sfgov.org Rachel Marshall – San Francisco District Attorney’s Office – (415) 416-4468 – Rachel.Marshall@fgov.org  **PRESS RELEASE** San Francisco to Launch the “Be The Jury” Pilot […]

Case Dismissed Mid-Trial Due to Lack of Evidence Against Man Who Spent a Year in SF Jail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 28, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946 **PRESS RELEASE** Case Dismissed Mid-Trial Due to Lack of Evidence Against Man Who Spent a Year in SF Jail Defense cites faulty police investigation, questions whether crime was committed at all SAN FRANCISCO – On February 14, charges were […]