TOMORROW: Drug Policy Experts and Treatment Providers to Give a Press Briefing on Evidence-based Treatment and Harm Reduction Strategies Needed to Address SF Public Health Crisis
Criminalizing the supply does nothing to abate the demand. Instead of bringing back the inhumane War on Drugs, public health experts discuss how San Francisco should invest in wraparound care
WHAT: A virtual press briefing co-hosted by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, SF Aids Foundation, the Drug Policy Alliance, Code Tenderloin and HealthRIGHT 360. Drug policy and community-based practitioners will discuss the history of the war on drugs and its impact in helping to create the current substance use crisis. They also will describe and make recommendations with regard to practices for harm reduction and treatment that have been shown to be effective. Press attending may enter questions in the chat that may be addressed in a Q&A following the speakers’ session.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 12th, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | Valerie Ibarra (628)249.7946
**PRESS STATEMENT**
SF Public Defender Mano Raju Urges More Public Health Support for Opioid Crisis
“Today, Mayor London Breed, SFPD Chief Bill Scott, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Supervisor Matt Dorsey held a press conference to discuss San Francisco’s efforts to address the opioid crisis.
While it is encouraging to hear of coordinated efforts to expand treatment options and services, the heavy focus on relying on police and prosecutions to arrest and cage our way out of a public health crisis remains in direct conflict with decades of social and scientific data which indicates otherwise.
Evidence from decades of the drug war has shown that punitive approaches, such as threatening homicide charges for drug sales in the case of an overdose, do not deter crime or drug use, but may deter people from seeking life-saving medical assistance. A report from Fair and Just Prosecution notes that such prosecutions, ‘do not alleviate the risk of fatal overdoses; are ineffective as a deterrent to drug use, drug sales, and overdose deaths; can be legally problematic and consume significant resources; often target friends and family members; and worsen racial disparities in the system.’ The Drug Policy Alliance concluded that, ‘drug-induced homicide prosecutions waste resources that could be spent on effective interventions.’
As public defenders, we want to save lives and have safe neighborhoods. As advocates for the majority of the indigent people arrested in San Francisco, many of whom live in neighborhoods greatly impacted by addiction and criminalization, we know that becoming entangled with the criminal legal system often leaves people in a worse place. The services that people are supposed to be able to access through the courts are wholly insufficient, which can result in prolonged incarceration while people are put on wait lists for underfunded services. Criminal records create barriers to employment and housing, which set people up for failure rather than for health and success.
Prosecuting subsistence-level drug sellers will do nothing to disrupt the supply and demand, and arresting someone using or selling drugs can often lead to worse health outcomes, like accidental overdoses. What San Francisco really needs is to prioritize universal health care and treatment on demand, along with other basic and vital support like housing.
Now is the time to listen to and collaborate with public health experts and community-based treatment and harm reduction providers who are working daily to save lives and treat community members suffering from substance use disorders. While we are all deeply concerned about the impact of overdoses in San Francisco, we must be focused on evidence-based solutions. We will be holding a press briefing next week with public health experts and community-based treatment and harm reduction providers to provide further details.”
MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | Jessie.Seyfer@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946
**PRESS RELEASE**
SF Resident Who Acted in Defense of Friend in Mission District Fight Released After Acquittal and Mistrial Prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to re-try the case against Nelson Hernandez-DeLeon.
SAN FRANCISCO – On Sept. 28, San Francisco prosecutors dropped all charges against 32-year-old Nelson Hernandez-DeLeon, who acted in defense of his friend during a fight outside a Mission District bar on Sept. 17, 2021. The dispute ended in the death of 34-year-old Omar Cureno. Deputy Public Defender Ilona Solomon led the defense team for Hernandez-DeLeon.
In a trial that began in March of this year, Hernandez-DeLeon faced a jury and was acquitted of first-degree murder. Jurors voted 10-2 to acquit him of second-degree murder, so a mistrial was declared. Prosecutors subsequently offered Hernandez-DeLeon a plea to a lesser charge, but he declined, given his innocence.
“Mr. Hernandez-DeLeon was out catching up with old friends that night. He was not intoxicated, and he certainly was not looking for a fight,” said Deputy Public Defender Solomon. “Mr. Cureno, according to his own friend, was extremely intoxicated, very angry, and looking for a fight when he approached my client. Mr. Cureno put brass knuckles on and accused Mr. Hernandez-DeLeon and his friend of laughing at him. Video evidence shows that Hernandez-DeLeon did not take out his work utility knife until after Mr. Cureno struck him three times in the head with brass knuckles. Mr. Hernandez-DeLeon tried to leave the fight twice, but went back solely to rescue his badly beaten friend and actually saved his friend’s life. Assistant District Attorney Justine Cephus did the right thing here by finally dismissing these charges.”
Hernandez-DeLeon spent over a year in jail. His Constitutionally mandated deadline for getting a speedy trial was in January 2022, but like more than 150 other San Franciscans, he was forced to languish in jail for months past that deadline because the Superior Court has refused to open enough courtrooms for trials. After the mistrial was declared in June, his deadline for a retrial was in August, yet he remained jailed until the remaining charges were dismissed last week.
Hernandez-DeLeon, who previously worked as a custodian for the city, is thrilled to be back with his family, Solomon said. The defense team also included Investigator Danielle Thompson and Paralegals Nathan Conn and Cheryl Tang.
“I want to thank our defense team for vigorously defending Mr. Hernandez-DeLeon. You are true warriors for our clients,” said elected San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “This is another case that demonstrates how critical it is for the San Francisco Superior Court to catch up with other jurisdictions and open more courts for trial.”
For more information about the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office efforts to end the trial backlog, click here.
Over 550 people’s trial deadlines have passed; Over 150 of them are still in jail. Hundreds more are in line behind them.
On September 16th, our mock trial and press rally captured the attention of local news outlets who turned up to hear ‘testimony’ from public defenders, community members, and those directly impacted by the trial delays in San Francisco Superior Court — which continues to violate people’s Constitutional right to a speedy trial. Hundreds of people who are presumed innocent remain in jail, sometimes waiting for months beyond their deadline for trial. Many who are out of custody awaiting trial are forced to wear electronic ankle monitors that subject them to 24-hr surveillance and anytime searches. These community members are presumed innocent, yet are being caged and shackled indefinitely. That’s why we’re demanding that the San Francisco Superior Court hold criminal trials in any and all available venues to address the alarming trial backlog that continues to grow and harm individuals and their families.
Thank you to the passionate, dedicated public defenders, directly impacted community members & allies who turned out in force today on the steps of 850 Bryant. We made our voices ring loud & clear. We demand #OpentheCourts & #FreeOurPeople! 1/ https://t.co/Ilk7BUWoQw@sfstandard
MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946
**PRESS RELEASE**
Jury Acquits SF Man Who Acted in Self-Defense in New Year’s Day Fight
Thomas Ortiz was caged for nearly five years. Trial began 15 months past his Constitutional deadline due to the Court’s failure to hold speedy trials. An SF jury found him not guilty of all charges.
SAN FRANCISCO – On September 15th, a San Francisco jury acquitted Thomas Ortiz, 26, whom public defenders established had acted in self-defense during a fight that took place early New Year’s Day 2017 between two groups of young men who encountered each other outside a convenience store near 26th and Folsom Streets in San Francisco. The dispute ended with the death of Ernesto Rosales, 21. Deputy Public Defenders Yali Corea-Levy and Sylvia Cediel led the defense team for Ortiz.
Despite not charging gang enhancements in the case, prosecutors tried unsuccessfully to argue that because Ortiz had friends who had been killed in unrelated incidents, and because he had appeared in a hip hop video, that there was a gang motivation in this killing. The jury heard extensive evidence and testimony from the defense undercutting the prosecution’s theory during the three-month trial. Now-District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was the lead prosecutor on the case prior to leaving the District Attorney’s office when it was under the leadership of Chesa Boudin.
“Our client, Thomas Ortiz, was acquitted because it was an act of self-defense. Mr. Ortiz had never been arrested before. He fired one shot in self-defense after another individual pulled out a weapon and after someone else threw a bottle at Mr. Ortiz’s face,” said Deputy Public Defender Corea-Levy. “Mr. Ortiz had grown up in a chaotic environment, had been the target of violence before, and had lost friends to violence. We know that he would not have shot the gun if he hadn’t been in fear for his life. In fact, he first used the gun as a blunt object to defend himself in the altercation before he fired a single and tragically fatal shot.”
“While this was a difficult and emotional trial for everyone involved, it was especially frightening and outrageous to see the police and prosecutors rely on racist presumptions about Latino men and faulty information to try to associate Mr. Ortiz with a gang in an attempt to scare the jury into overlooking the facts,” said Deputy Public Defender Cediel. “Thanks to further investigation from our office, we were able to share more about who Mr. Ortiz really is and that much of the police and prosecution’s evidence was flawed.”
After a preliminary hearing, Ortiz invoked his Constitutional right to a speedy trial, and was entitled to have his trial by March of 2021. Instead, the trial didn’t start until 15 months later, all the while he was in jail during the entirety of the pandemic. The trial lasted three months, and the jury deliberated for just over a week before acquitting him on all charges.
“The San Francisco Superior Court’s delays in re-opening more courtrooms for trials in the wake of the COVID pandemic contributed to the egregious delay in this case going to trial,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who sued the San Francisco Superior Court in 2021 regarding its failure to re-open enough courtrooms for trials, and who led a protest rally last week on this issue. “Mr. Ortiz, who is now 26, was forced to wait over a year past his statutory and Constitutional deadline to a speedy trial before he got to defend his innocence at trial. His defense team worked skillfully and compassionately to show that the prosecution was using fear rather than facts to try to prove their case.”
The defense team included Deputy Public Defenders Yali Corea-Levy and Sylvia Cediel, Investigator Tim Kingston, who also testified at trial, Paralegal Margaret So, and Public Defender Intern Anjuli Peters.
For more information about the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office efforts to end the trial backlog, click here.
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This press release was updated on 9/21/22 at 4:30pm.
SF Public Defenders and Community Hold Mock Trial to Indict the Court for Violating Speedy Trial Rights Amid Oppressive Backlog
Public Defenders filed motions for release for a dozen clients languishing in jail & a batch of motions to dismiss cases beyond trial deadlines
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, San Francisco Public Defenders, Supervisors Ronen and Preston, community leaders, and individuals impacted by trial delays and indefinite pre-trial detention held a mock trial on the steps of the Hall of Justice to indict the San Francisco Superior Court for violating speedy trial rights and failing to meaningfully address the alarming criminal trial backlog that has ballooned since the beginning of the pandemic. Attorneys also filed habeas petitions challenging the harsh conditions of confinement in County Jail on behalf of a dozen of the more than 150 individuals who are still in jail beyond their statutory trial deadline; and filed motions to dismiss several cases beyond deadline. Despite over 550 cases delayed past their trial deadline, and the Court’s claim that it has fully reopened, 40% of the allotted trial courtrooms at the Hall of Justice sat empty as the community gathered to testify to the harm caused by these delays.
“San Francisco shamefully stands alone in violating constitutional speedy trial rights. Other counties all over the state have opened their courtrooms and available spaces to ensure residents, whose freedom is at stake, are given their day in court,” said Mano Raju, who joined a group of taxpayers to sue SF Superior Court one year ago in September 2021, part of which is under review in the California Court of Appeal. “There’s no excuse for this court to fail its residents so badly and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in our jails, when we know that trials can be held safely. If you add up all the extra days that our clients who are currently in jail have been held past their deadline for trial, it comes to 15,333 days — that’s 42 years of wrongful incarceration.”
Many of the people in custody in San Francisco County Jails are subjected to 23-hour-a-day lockdown conditions, have had no exposure to sunlight, no in-person family visits, and almost nonexistent opportunities to attend programs. The habeas petitions filed today aim to free several people who have been detained pre-trial under these harsh conditions.
Community members who have been directly impacted by these delays spoke at the rally about the mental and physical harms and traumas associated with family separation.
“I haven’t hugged my daughter in two long years because the San Francisco Court has repeatedly delayed her trial. My daughter is currently in jail waiting for her day in court, and each day she is separated from me and her children, my grandchildren, is excruciating,” said Mayra Borg, whose daughter is represented by the Public Defender’s Office.
Stephen Kloster – a public defender client who spent 410 days in jail, unable to care for his 87-year-old mother; and who was eventually acquitted of all felony charges – contributed a statement that was read in his absence: “As an immunocompromised person, I lived in fear that I would get seriously sick or die while I was in jail. It’s ironic that the stated reason for trial delays is COVID-19 because the people in San Francisco’s jails waiting for their day in court are the most vulnerable to the spread of serious illnesses like COVID-19. It feels like the Court isn’t taking its responsibility to hold trials seriously, and they’re playing games with our lives.”
Stephanie Irving spoke about her 60-year-old partner, a public defender client, who has been in jail for five months where he caught COVID. “When he called me and he was coughing so much, I had to hang up the phone because it was too painful. I was scared he was going to die in there. This time was supposed to be our time to be together. He should be with me, not still be in that place.” Her partner’s trial deadline passed in August, and they have been told it may be months before he actually goes to trial.
Robert Brewer, another public defender client, said, “I was in jail for 288 days, the entire time during COVID. When I finally went to trial after over nine months, it lasted 5-7 days, but the jury only took 90 minutes of deliberation to come out with the unanimous decision of not guilty.”
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy trial, but the San Francisco Superior Court has been relying on the circumstances of the pandemic as an excuse to delay trials, sometimes for months past their statutory deadline. California state law requires that courts prioritize criminal trials, yet San Francisco continues to hold civil trials and has not made use of all available courtrooms nor sought alternative venues to accommodate the need. A number of other counties – such as Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Marin – have made such accommodations and cut their trial backlog significantly while San Francisco’s backlog continues to expand. While there are over 550 cases that are currently beyond deadline in San Francisco, there are hundreds more in line behind them.
“The community has spoken, and we call on the San Francisco Superior Court to act with urgency, to follow its legal and ethical obligations to set and hold trials in all available venues, and to stop detaining people indefinitely while their lives, health, and families suffer,” said Mano Raju.
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We’ll be adding more photos and the live-stream from today’s action as soon as it is available.
Public Defenders and community members gather for a mock trial to indict the system. SF Public Defender Mano Raju calls the case of “The Community v. SF Superior Court” for violating speedy trial rights of hundreds of people, many who are languishing in jail. Photo by Zac DillonFlier designed by Peter Calloway.
Click through to see captions from some of the speakers. San Francisco Public Defenders inside the Hall of Justice, filing a batch of petitions for dismissal of cases beyond their deadline and a dozen habeas petitions for release from pre-trial detention. Photo by Zac Dillon.Demanding pretrial release and speedy trials — Community leaders and directly-impacted family members of some of the 150+ people who are being held in jail many months past their trial deadline. Photo by Zac Dillon.
TOMORROW: SF Public Defenders & Community to Hold a Mock Trial on steps of 850 Bryant to “Open the Courts and Free Our People”
Over 150 people languish indefinitely in SF jails without trial as the Superior Court continues to violate state and federal speedy trial rights
WHAT: A press rally in the form of a mock trial will call attention to the alarming and expansive criminal trial backlog in San Francisco Superior Court, which continues to violate speedy trial rights and jail people beyond their trial deadlines. Over 550 individuals have statutory trial deadlines that have passed, including over 150 people who remain locked in jail with no end in sight. Many people in jail face a 23-hour-a-day lockdown in their cells, damaging their mental/physical health. Hear testimony from public defenders, community leaders, and directly-impacted community members whose lives, well-being, and families have suffered immensely under the legal crisis in our courts and the humanitarian crisis in our jails.Habeas petitions, challenging the harsh conditions of confinement in County Jail, will be filed.
WHEN: Friday, September 16, 2022 starting at 10am
WHERE: Steps of 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco
WHO:
From the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office: Mano Raju, Elected Public Defender of San Francisco; Kathleen Natividad, Deputy Public Defender (MC); Jacque Wilson, Managing Attorney Misdemeanor Unit
Directly-impacted Public Defender clients and family members: Mayra Borg (mother); Stephanie Irving (partner); Stephen Kloster (client); Robert Brewer (client)
Supervisors: Hillary Ronen and Dean Preston
Community Leaders: Father Richard Smith, Clergy; Olga Miranda, SEIU 87 / SF Labor Council;
Lucero Hererra, Advocacy and Policy Director of Young Women’s Freedom Center; Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Francisco Poet Laureate
**We encourage all press to join us in person and to set up any cameras and microphones by 9:45am. We also will be live-streaming at https://www.instagram.com/sfpublicdefender/.
Head of the Youth Defender Unit Responds to DA’s Harmful Juvenile Policy
SAN FRANCISCO – On September 13, 2022, Emily Goldman, the Managing Attorney of the Youth Defender Unit of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, issued the following statement in response to interim San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’s newly announced juvenile justice policies which opened the door to try youth as adults in San Francisco.
“Any movement towards putting children in adult prisons is a step backwards that ignores scientific research and recent criminal justice reforms, is a direct threat to community health and safety, and is harmful to our youth and families. Youth accused of serious crimes often are the victims of trauma, violence, and abuse themselves, and are among those needing the most support and intervention. Recognizing these needs, in recent years, we have seen more resources being directed to the benefit of vulnerable and at-risk young people. There are numerous examples of system-involved youth progressing because of the resources allocated to them in the juvenile court and they are now developing into productive members of society. We have had youth, who could have been charged as adults, instead engage in restorative justice, and we have seen victims who have felt heard and who have told us that the process has helped them heal. Youth who have had the opportunity to learn about the harms they have caused and received the services they need are much less likely to recidivate. These practices, and others, are in line with the overall directive of the juvenile court, which is rehabilitation.
“This change of policy announced today by District Attorney Jenkins harkens back to the disastrous era of the 1990’s which is thought of as ‘the dark ages’ by many, where youth were labeled as “super-predators” (which turned out to be a myth), where overcharging was routine, and for a significant time period, where children could be sentenced to life without parole. While District Attorney Jenkins pays lip service to acknowledging that children deserve a second chance and need supportive services, her policy announced today ignores the data and the history which has shown the ineffective, counterproductive, and dangerous practice of trying youth as adults under any circumstances.”
SF Public Defender’s Office Lauds City Attorney’s Dismissal of Tenderloin Injunctions
Court of Appeal Decision Could Set Precedent for the State
SAN FRANCISCO – After a nearly two-year legal battle, the San Francisco City Attorney has dismissed the 28 civil injunction lawsuits that former San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed to ban individuals from the Tenderloin under civil nuisance laws. Earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal affirmed a San Francisco trial court’s ruling which denied the City’s motion for preliminary injunctions on constitutional grounds. Many of these individuals were clients of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office at the time the civil injunctions were announced, and nearly all of them are Latinx community members. Thanks to a large outpouring of community opposition and pro bono legal representation by Swanson & McNamara LLP, ACLU of Northern California, and DLA Piper, the proposed injunctions were defeated in both the trial and appellate courts. The City’s dismissals bring this harrowing journey to an end for the vulnerable individuals named in the lawsuits.
San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju commented, “These civil injunctions would have criminalized Latinx community members for merely being present in the Tenderloin neighborhood. They were antithetical to the values of equality and freedom that San Franciscans hold. I’d like to express our deep appreciation to Swanson & McNamara, ACLU of Northern California, and DLA Piper for the hundreds of hours they put into this successful litigation to stop these unlawful injunctions. And now that these injunctions are behind us, I reiterate my call for immediate and substantial investments in community-based services and treatment for individuals struggling with substance use disorders or trapped in an exploitative drug trade, rather than in further attempts at criminalization and incarceration of low-income communities of color.”
Mamta Ahluwalia, Deputy Public Defender who led the Public Defender’s Office’s support for this litigation, commented, “Our clients who would have been harmed by these injunctions have families, jobs, and/or obtain vital social and health services in the Tenderloin. A City Attorney should be involved in the business of protecting and upholding the interests and concerns of the working class, not targeting them for banishment using public funds. I am glad that the ultimate result of this litigation is a published opinion that will have a wide-reaching impact in preventing future unlawful attempts by cities at targeting and profiling communities of color for exclusion from public spaces.”
Having any type of contact with the criminal legal system can have far-reaching consequences on one’s ability to move forward, even decades later. Arrests and convictions can show up on background checks, often creating barriers to housing, education, and jobs. It’s part of the vicious cycle that keeps people from reaching personal and professional goals, or even meeting their basic needs.
Our Clean Slate team proudly helps people with the expungement process so that past mistakes can stop hindering people’s futures. Sometimes, the expungement process can run into its own barriers, including prosecutors who may be unwilling to overlook the fines, fees, and restitution that some people still owe. For many, the reason they have not paid off these monetary debts is because their past record has prevented them from securing more gainful employment. California State Senator Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, has proposed the Fresh Start Act so that people would no longer be disqualified for expungement simply because of unpaid restitution.
In this insightful and informative article – SF Prosecutors Prevent People With Court Debts From Clearing Criminal Records. A State Bill Could Change That – Noah Baustin of the San Francisco Standard features the stories of two inspirational women who have gone through the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Clean Slate Program. The restitution they owed nearly prevented them from getting the expungements they deserve in order to elevate their lives, better provide for their families, and give back to the community.
If you or someone you know could benefit from a Clean Slate, please reach out to us with any questions at 415-553-9337 or contact us via our website. You can also start the application online and we will support you throughout the process.
Grateful to our @sfdefender Clean Slate team for helping so many community members, including the inspirational women featured in this article, Ebony & Celeste, to get the rightful expungements & second chances they deserve. Contact our team for help:https://t.co/wJcGJYRDrZ
