News and Press Releases

Today in SF Superior Court, numerous chief public defenders from across California stood with San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju and his office, reflecting the nationwide efforts by public defenders to demand resources equal to those of prosecutors in criminal courts. At today’s hearing, SF Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman sanctioned Raju by fining him $26,000—calculated as $1,000 for the...

Today, the Public Defender’s Office filed a complaint with the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability asserting that two SFPD officers violated numerous police department policies when they racially profiled, used excessive force, and carried out illegal detention and arrests at a private home in August 2025. More specifically, the officers treated a Black man as a suspect based solely...

On March 10, 2026, S.F. Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman made a finding of contempt against San Francisco’s elected Public Defender Mano Raju after the judge ordered the Public Defender’s Office to take on more cases than would be ethically sound. The judge threatened monetary sanctions to be determined at a hearing on March 24. Here is a statement from...

A San Francisco jury has acquitted Irie Benson, 48, of attempted murder charges after determining that he shot a knife-wielding stranger to protect himself and his elderly uncle. Jurors deliberated for less than two hours.

PRESS RELEASE: After a month-long trial, a jury acquitted Antoine Watson of first- and second-degree murder and elder abuse from a highly publicized January 2021 incident. The jury convicted Watson of involuntary manslaughter and assault for pushing Vicha Ratanapakdee, who later died from the fall. Jurors reviewed extensive evidence that refuted widespread misinformation that circulated after a viral video clip....