@sfpublicdefender.sf.gov
The official Bluesky account of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office. Fiercely defending individuals, confronting state violence, and advocating for community power. sfpublicdefender.org. https://linktr.ee/sfpublicdefender.
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.
📣 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...
The S.F. Police Commission needs to uphold the policy by monitoring SFPD’s implementation & data collection.
Email: sfpd.commission@sfgov.org.
Let them know the Pretext Stops policy matters b/c it keeps us safe, protects civil rights, & saves pub resources.
sfpublicdefender.org/2026/01/14/n...
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.
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
Statewide coalition will champion bill to ensure police, sheriffs can’t work side jobs for ICE The ICE Out of CA Coalition, made up of over 30 organizations across the state, announced that it will sponsor AB 1537 by Asm. Isaac Bryan. The bill would prohibit state and local law enforcement officers from working “side jobs” with ICE, CBP, DHS, or any other entities engaged in the arrest or detention of Californians, including private security companies which contract with ICE to carry out abductions. The introduction of the legislation comes as ICE continues to violently terrorize, abduct and harm community members across the country and as the Trump admin. ramps up attempts to dramatically increase the number of deportation agents. With recent advertising campaigns, ICE has directly sought to recruit police and sheriffs. AB 1537 will shine a light of public scrutiny on these attempts, requiring disclosure of any “offer of, request for, or attempt at secondary employment that involves assisting with or engaging in immigration enforcement” and ensuring such records are available to the public. The coalition stated: “ICE is desperately seeking more agents to abduct our neighbors and tear families apart and is actively trying to recruit police and sheriffs. Despite the protections we’ve passed in California, we need to do much more. And this bill addresses one serious loophole: nothing in state law prevents officers from working ‘side jobs’ as deportation agents. Asm. Bryan’s bill will provide urgently-needed transparency and set a commonsense statewide policy. We look forward to partnering with the Assemblymember to advance this crucial legislation ensuring law enforcement in California are prohibited from taking side-jobs as ICE agents.” Asm. Bryan: “If you take an oath to protect and serve communities in California, you should not be allowed to take a second job with ICE rooted in terrorizing those same communities. It’s time to close this loophole.”
🚨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. 🧵
The man arrested for stabbing a social worker at S.F. General Hospital spent nearly a month in the hospital’s locked psychiatric ward before being discharged to county jail. This week, he entered pleas with the support of his public defender.
missionlocal.org/2026/01/sf-h...
We continue to ask why @abc7.bsky.social and @nbcbayarea.com have ignored requests for corrections to their stories that omitted key evidence and testimony the reporters observed in trial. Why mislead the public?
The expansion of Mental Health Diversion to give people access to Drug Court has increased participation. More resources & treatment are needed for more to succeed & break cycles of addiction and violence. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/d...
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!
As power outages continue overnight, call 9-1-1 for life-safety emergencies. For City services, call 3-1-1.
PG&E is opening a Resource Center at 251 18th Avenue from 5-10pm today and 8am-10pm on 12/22/25 for residents impacted by continued outages. Snacks, drinks, WiFi and charging are available.
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.
For December, we @sfpublicdefender.sf.gov thank all of our community partners. Our motto “Greater Than One” reflects our commitment to building community health & safety through collaboration. Our partners inspire us & strengthen our impact. We’re grateful to serve San Franciscans alongside them.
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...
