Great hearing from Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr about leadership today w/ city leaders. Really appreciate his willingness to speak out on social justice issues & his PSA for SF's Be The Jury program, our initiative to increase economic & racial diversity on juries. More: tinyurl.com/KerrBeTheJury

We are heartened & so appreciative of the support we're receiving for our stance against crushing workloads and in support of our clients’ Constitutional right to effective counsel. Thanks, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, @nlada.bsky.social & the American Council of Chief Defenders!

Legal leaders nationwide support SF Public Defender Mano Raju, who is standing up for clients & against crushing staff workloads. The court may unjustly sanction him for it. 📣Stand w/ us tomorrow: 1:30pm, Dept 22, 850 Bryant St., SF.📣Our community deserves a fully-resourced public defense office.

Gideon Day marks the 1963 SCOTUS decision that established the right to an attorney for anyone charged w/a crime, regardless of ability to pay. Pub defs have a constitutional duty & great privilege to protect the rights of the ppl we rep while pushing for a more just/equitable legal system&society.

📢 Check out our office’s Community Budget Presentation to learn about our goals, the vital work we do, and our budget. Public defenders are essential to protecting constitutional rights, ensuring fairness, and giving a voice to people who can’t afford an attorney. tinyurl.com/PDR2026Budget

#AB1917, the Respect Judicial Decisions Act, passed the CA Assembly Public Safety Committee! Thx to bill author @asmnickschultz.bsky.social for recognizing the need to strengthen fairness & due process in our courts, and to our fellow co‑sponsors Californians for Safety and Justice and CACJ. 🧵

For years, cops used minor violations as excuses (pretexts) to stop & search Black and brown drivers. The Pretext Stop Policy addresses those harms while keeping communities safe. Read the study: bppj.berkeley.edu/news/data-re... 🚨 Voice your support of this policy at [email protected].

🚨New, independent UC Berkeley research shows that SF's Pretext Stops Policy is WORKING.🚨 Check out the researcher's SF Chronicle op-ed: tinyurl.com/Chron-pretext. The analysis found that the policy *reduced* disproportionate stops of Black & Latino drivers without sacrificing anyone’s safety.

Honored to speak at the Harvard Law APALSA Conference about my journey to becoming an elected Public Defender & our office’s work advocating for system-impacted people. Grateful to APALSA organizers for creating space to discuss public interest paths for aspiring API lawyers. The future is bright.

Honored to celebrate the opening of the Just Home project on 3rd St—housing & support for Transitional Age Youth. Housing is a critical need for our @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov clients & can be life-changing. Grateful to local policy dir. Carolyn Goossen and partners for their work making this happen.

In my OpEd, I explain why we shouldn’t accept a system where the quality or timeliness of justice depends on the limited resources of public defenders. A new national workload study affirms: if we’re serious abt justice, we must be serious abt funding public defense. sfbayview.com/2026/02/we-c...

Breaking: AB 1537 by Asm. Isaac Bryan, the No Side Jobs for ICE Act, has PASSED out of the Assembly Public Safety Committee! Thank you to Asm. Bryan @ib2real.bsky.social, to the committee members who voted “aye,” and all who supported! 1/

⭐ Join us Friday, 2/27 from noon-2 p.m. for a webinar event: San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju will talk with author and former public defender Emily Galvin Almanza about her new book, “The Price of Mercy.” ⚖️ ➡️ Register at tinyurl.com/PubDefAlmanza or use the QR code.

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy, and prosperous Lunar New Year. In the Chinese Year of the Horse, may we accelerate toward greater justice & humanity. #lunarnewyear #yearofthehorse

📣 NEW BILL INTRODUCED AB 1917, the “Respect Judicial Decisions Act”, upholds judicial discretion & enhances due process rights by requiring prosecutors to file a motion to add back charges that were previously dismissed by a judge at a preliminary hearing. Track updates: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

In the words of Vera’s Claudia Gonzalez, “Punishment is not prevention, and prison is not a path forward.” Diversion programs provide a non-punitive alternative to incarceration and addresses trauma, promotes healing, and helps break the cycle of incarceration. www.marinij.com/2026/01/28/o...

Did you know that the San Francisco “pretext stops” policy is showing early signs of success in reducing racial profiling during police traffic stops? It’s a great start, but there’s still a long way to go…

We @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov were honored to kick off #BlackHistoryMonth w/ Jeffery Robinson, exec dir. of the Who We Are Project. He gave an amazing training on trial storytelling, & spoke about 100 years of BHM—reminding us of our shared history & public defenders’ role fighting anti-Black racism.

📢 Join Our Community Budget Presentation! Thursday, 2/12/26, 11:00 AM In person or via Zoom Come learn about our goals, the vital work we do, & our budget. Public defenders are essential to protecting constitutional rights, ensuring fairness, & giving a voice to people who can’t afford an attorney.

Public defender offices are chronically underfunded across the country, eroding people's Constitutional right to effective counsel & due process. In this op-ed @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov Chief Atty Matt Gonzalez explains why our office has been forced to declare unavailable on a small # of new cases.

Honored to keynote the CA Coalition for Prosecutorial Integrity summit in SF put on by @itchy-cpi.bsky.social. As public defenders, we see how prosecutorial overcharging perpetuates state violence. We’re inspired by the NY DA accountability commission the Coalition has built.

Today we joined local leaders in SF to support Asm @ib2real.bsky.social's AB 1537, the No Side Jobs for ICE Act. Our coalition is proud to sponsor this important bill. www.courthousenews.com/california-b... 1/

From widespread reports of ICE kidnappings to the killing of Renée Good, we’ve seen the devastating harm this rogue agency inflicts. We’re standing w/SF Supe Mahmood to support AB 1537, a critical state bill to protect Californians by preventing local & state law enforcement from working for ICE.

To honor and celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, the ‘beautiful community’ came out to show our relentless dedication to justice for all. Thanks so much to the SF Interfaith Council for the inspirational gathering to connect with one another on the work ahead. #MLK

🚨ICE has spent millions trying to recruit local police and sheriffs. And right now, nothing in state law prevents local officers from taking “side jobs” as deportation agents. AB 1537 by @isaacgbryan.bsky.social will CLOSE this loophole. We’re proud to sponsor this important bill. 🧵

First week of January 2026 @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov in the news: •uplifting benefits of Drug Court expansion @sfchronicle.com •seeking corrections @abc7.bsky.social & @nbcbayarea.com • providing updates & condolences re: stabbing of social worker at SF General @kqednews.kqed.org @missionlocal.org

We mourn Renee Nicole Good, killed by ICE in Minnesota. This murder is a painful reminder that ICE is a violent and unaccountable agency that has long terrorized immigrant communities and torn families apart. SF stands firm in Sanctuary and supports ICE-Free Zones and CA AB 1537.

Our Young Defender program—made possible by SF’s Opportunities for All—offers local high school students paid internships w/ our office to learn about the criminal legal system. In this video, Young Defender Zachariah shares a key takeaway. Big thanks to intern Sai for their work on this video!

It was great to see @aclu-norcal.bsky.social Exec Director Abdi Soltani & Stand Together Contra Costa Director Ali Saidi at the Iranian American Bar Association’s national gala! Proud to honor Iranian American attys and to celebrate orgs working to safeguard everyone’s Constitutional & human rights.

Our Young Defender program—made possible by SF’s Opportunities for All—offers local high school students paid internships w/ our office to learn about the criminal legal system. In this video, Young Defender Amir shares a key takeaway. Big thanks to intern Sai for their work on this video!

Yesterday, we delivered a community demand letter from 30+ orgs to SF leaders following the mass strip search of women in jail. The demands call for accountability, survivor support, independent investigation, and real oversight. Read and share our letter.

It was a magical evening w/a packed house at the Roxie Theater for the screening of 3 films from the Adachi Project’s new “DEFENDER–Off the Record” series. We were honored to have our clients who were featured in the films & filmmakers from Even/Odd join a panel w/moderator @bootsriley.bsky.social.

As Public Defenders, we understand that the fear of immigration enforcement can keep families from schools, clinics & essential services. City buildings must be places of dignity—not detention. Proud to support Sups. @bilalmahmood.bsky.social and Chyanne Chen’s ICE-Free Zones Ordinance. #ICEoutofSF

The Adachi Project is back with 'DEFENDER—Off the Record' — a new series of short films about @sfpublicdefender clients: Sal, Prezi, and Julia. Join us for a special screening 12/2 at 6pm; $10 tix available at Roxie.com. Followed by a panel moderated by Boots Riley w/film subjects & filmmakers.

Today on #WorldAIDSDay, we reaffirm: health care, not punishment. We stand with communities most impacted by HIV and continue fighting for equity, housing, treatment access, and dignity. @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov

Had a blast speaking with members of the Leadership Academy about careers in public defense at Third Street Youth Center & Clinic! I always appreciate the opportunity to talk with young people about the impact they could make in public defense.

Many thanks to the National Association for Public Defense for supporting of our office’s decision to declare unavailable in a limited number of cases. When understaffing and underfunding threaten quality representation, public defenders must decline new cases. publicdefenders.us/blogs/napd-s...

It was great to convene w/our @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov College Pathway Project partners abt how we can support even more of our clients to access higher ed. Thx SFSU Project Rebound & CCSF New Directions for working w/pub def staff to ensure students who've been system-involved get higher ed opps.

We stand in solidarity with SF’s court clerks — whose work keeps our courts running. Like our office, they’ve been stretched thin by rising case filings and growing workloads. We deeply appreciate their commitment to access to justice. Read more from @missionlocal.org: bit.ly/courtclerks.

✊ Know your rights. At the SF Immigrant Rights Commission, Immigration Unit mngr Jennifer Friedman highlighted our deportation defense work & Assist. Chief Attny Angela Chan gave recommendations to ensure law enforcement doesn’t aid ICE. 🎥 youtube.com/watch?v=mtx-GsWMGdc @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov

Now, we're building on our success in the East Bay (and Los Angeles!) to bring our groundbreaking model to San Francisco — and we're partnering with @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov to build a network of San Francisco residents willing to open their homes to someone returning from prison. (2/4)

Thx to @seattleulaw.bsky.social Profs. Robert Boruchowitz & @ucirvinelaw.bsky.social Robert Chang for their @dailyjournalcorp.bsky.social op-ed on how underfunding of public defenders vs. law enforcement undermines fairness for indigent, BIPOC people. 📖 tinyurl.com/PubDefDJ ⚖️ #FundPublicDefense

🎃 Happy Halloween from @sfpublicdefender and our amazing Magic Programs — @mo_magic415 and @bayviewmagic — who are out spreading joy with the children and families we serve! Wishing everyone a safe, fun, and magical night. 💜🕸️👻

We’re hiring misdemeanor & felony trial attorneys! Join one of the nation’s most respected public defender offices—fighting for justice, community power & our clients' rights. We seek attys committed to racial justice & to leveraging the law to uplift marginalized communities. tinyurl.com/PDRLawyer

📢San Francisco has long been a sanctuary—a city that celebrates our values of care, dignity and collective safety. Sign & share this petition to urge Sheriff Paul Miyamoto to honor this commitment & uphold our city’s Sanctuary Ordinance.✍️ bit.ly/upholdsfsanctuary @iceoutofca.bsky.social #ICEoutofSF

If you've experienced a low-level traffic stop in San Francisco in the past three years, the Center for Policing Equity wants to hear about it for a study on the effects of traffic stops. Details, including compensation and the link to sign up, in the flyer. 👇🏾

SF needs housing & care for our most vulnerable residents--NOT armed federal troops terrorizing our city. We will fiercely defend those who protest the injustices of this administration. Thx @us.theguardian.com, for including my response to Trump’s threats: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Our Young Defenders program—made possible by SF’s Opportunities for All—offers local high school students paid internships w/ our office to learn about the criminal legal system. In this video, Young Defender Joleen shares a key takeaway. Big thanks to intern Sai for their work on this video!

The SF Superior Court has dismissed the police union’s lawsuit challenging SF’s landmark policy limiting police pretextual stops (i.e., traffic stops that police use as a “pretext” to detain & search people). The policy remains in effect! Know Your Rights: sfpublicdefender.org/2024/07/16/1...

Gov. Newsom has signed #AB321 into law! The #BIDAct will allow judges to review relevant evidence before deciding if a “wobbler” is a misdemeanor or felony. Enormous thx to co-sponsors Californians for Safety & Justice + author @asmnickschultz.bsky.social! More ➡️ sfpublicdefender.org/2025/10/11/t...