OLD_San Francisco Public Defender's Office

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office will begin filing motions to seek the immediate release of all clients being held pre-trial in San Francisco county jails who are at heightened risk of illness from the virus. 

People at heightened risk for the virus include: people over 60, those with heart or lung disease, diabetes, and immunosuppressed individuals who are suffering from cancer, HIV, or autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or multiple sclerosis.  

“We are taking this action to protect older adults and those with compromised immune systems who are extremely vulnerable right now. People who are incarcerated in jail are already exposed to an unsafe environment. The cramped and unsanitary conditions in jail put the older or immunocompromised population at a much greater risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus,” said Public Defender Mano Raju.

Raju added, “We are committed to working with the District Attorney, the Sheriff, and the courts to identify safe alternatives to pre-trial detention for these individuals.” 

In a letter sent today, the Public Defender also asked the Sheriff to assess all sentenced persons in jail to see who is eligible for immediate release on electronic monitoring or work release programs, and to then begin processing their release. 

“Given the public health emergency posed by coronavirus, my office is seeking the immediate release of all incarcerated people sentenced to county jail in San Francisco who have less than 6 months left to serve,” said Raju.  “These are cases where the court has already decided that it’s safe to release someone into the community, and will be doing so in the very near future. This will help reduce the population on the inside, allowing for recommended distance between individuals during this public health crisis.”

“Our office pursues all avenues to ensure the safety and wellness of our clients every day.  We are asking that the Sheriff, and others with the power to release people, act with similar urgency in the face of his increasingly serious public health crisis,” said Raju.    

SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 5, 2020 –  This morning, all charges were dismissed against Kenneth Ofigho, 31, a former employee of Edgewood Center, who has consistently maintained his innocence after being wrongly accused of inappropriately touching a minor in April 2019. 

The charges were dismissed after a lengthy review of all the evidence, including the lack of any DNA evidence, and a witness who was present and did not corroborate the allegations. The court also diligently reviewed over 700 pages of records from Edgewood Center, which describes itself as a facility that helps individuals and their loved ones who struggle with mental illness and behavioral health issues. Ultimately, Assistant District Attorney Lalah Morris dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence to support the burden of proof.

Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen said, “Mr. Ofigho has been living a nightmare for almost a year and, unfortunately, he will suffer the professional ramifications of these false allegations for years to come despite his innocence.”

Mr. Ofigho had absolutely no contact with the criminal legal system prior to these allegations. Numerous current and former co-workers, along with family and friends, submitted letters of support and offered to testify to his good character.

Ms. Nguyen added, “The presumption of innocence failed Mr. Ofigho from the start. Since these accusations were made, he was taken to jail, later placed on house arrest, lost his job, and was publicly humiliated by having his name and picture circulated in the news media. Thanks to our team’s relentless investigation and persistence in seeking the truth, he has been vindicated and is finally free to move forward with his life.” 

San Francisco– On election day, Tuesday March 3, federal immigration agents arrested a San Francisco resident in front of the courthouse steps of 850 Bryant Street as he was entering criminal court for a hearing. ICE agents acted without a judicial warrant and therefore in violation of state law.

The San Francisco Public Defender and the District Attorney have condemned this action, and are calling on ICE to stop making courthouse arrests.  Advocates say that this is the first time this type of courthouse immigration enforcement has occurred in San Francisco. Two weeks ago, ICE agents arrested at least 3 people at the Sonoma County Superior Court Campus.

“California law explicitly forbids a civil enforcement agency, including ICE, from making a civil arrest without a warrant outside a courthouse. ICE’s illegal conduct undermines community trust and public safety. This type of action scares people—including victims, witnesses, the accused, or those participating in treatment – and deters them from coming to court,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “San Francisco will not allow such egregious abuse of power to go unchecked; we will provide immediate and zealous representation to anyone subject to such illegal activity.” 

“ICE actions in or near our courthouses deters people from accessing our justice system, making us all less safe,” said San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. 

“ICE’s conduct here disturbed and disrupted the entire court,” said Emi MacLean, Deputy Public Defender. “We will stand up to prevent these attacks. The Bay Area has a vibrant network of legal and community advocates who are ready to provide immediate and aggressive defense for immigrants caught up in these kinds of illegal actions.” 

Studies have proven that sanctuary cities are safer than non-sanctuary cities. Crime is lower in sanctuary counties compared with non-sanctuary counties. Victims are also more likely to come forward, and immigrant communities are more likely to participate as witnesses to crimes.

There will be a joint press conference with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and community organizations on Monday, March 9, at 12pm on the steps of 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco. Details to follow.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On February 27, 2020, in front of a crowd of over 300 people at Brava Theater, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju took his oath of office and pledged his service to the community as part of the annual Black History Month Celebration of the Public Defender’s Office.

His oath was administrated by Gwen Woods, mother of Mario Woods, who was shot and killed by police in 2015.

Before administering the oath, Gwen Woods, surrounded by a group of mothers who have lost their children to police violence, urged Raju to “stay hopeful” and to remember that the people he and all public defenders serve have a story, and to “hear it.”

Woods, who is from the Bayview in San Francisco, said that she has spent her whole life combatting stereotypes about her community. “Hope runs out because the narrative becomes so redundant. When you grow up in a community where black boys tell you, ‘I’m not going to live to see 25,’ that’s a hopeless society,” said Woods.  She implored Raju to, “Let them know they count, they matter.”

Public Defender Raju’s social justice oath emphasized his commitment to serve San Francisco’s most vulnerable communities with an understanding of our shared humanity and pledged to “see all the beauty, power, and potential of each person I defend.”

Raju stated in his speech that, “This shared humanity is why we aggressively litigate our cases and humanize our clients to judges and juries, and why long after the cases are done, we are also fighting to connect our clients with the treatment, employment, and housing they need to stay out of the system and be with their loved ones and communities.” He further stated that, “Serving clients with the utmost integrity, to me, means rejecting the stereotypes and narratives about who our clients and their communities are, and fighting for their right to be treated with dignity.”

The Black History Month event, hosted by the department’s Racial Justice Committee, also featured speeches by Supervisor Shamann Walton, Youth Commissioner Rome Jones, the rapper Prezi, and numerous public defenders.

Supervisor Walton said, “Having a public defender for the people is imperative. By having a community inauguration, it definitely sheds light on the type of person he is. I am proud and excited that Mano is carrying on the legacy of fighting for justice at the Public Defender’s Office.” Walton noted that Raju is already working with the Board of Supervisors on issues of police accountability.

Deputy Public Defender Niki Solis, Chair of the Racial Justice Committee, said that public defenders are “on the frontier of a civil rights battle” and are uniquely positioned to effectuate change in a system that overwhelmingly incarcerates people of color and disproportionately removes African American children from the home or places them on electronic monitoring. Solis noted, “We call out racism when we see it.”

Youth Commissioner Jones, who serves on the working group helping to rewrite the San Francisco police department’s general orders about bias in policing, noted that Black youth are underrepresented in the conversations where decisions are made, and urged his fellow youth to, “Make them put us in positions to really respect us and hear us out.”

Mano Raju’s Public Defender Oath:

I will be compassionate, relentless, and courageous in the fight for justice.

I will be willing to see all the beauty, power, and potential of each person I represent.

I will advocate for structural changes that contribute to ending the mass incarceration system that has devastated our society for far too long.

I will fight against unjust and racist immigration laws, defend all people regardless of their birthplace or immigration status, and fight mass deportation as vigorously as I fight mass incarceration.

I will remain committed to racial justice.

I will grow excellence among defenders.

I will honor the brilliance of the intergenerational resilience of our clients and their communities.

I will remember that my representation of individuals ripples out to the folks who love them, and therefore strive to stay engaged with their families and communities.

I will keep burning the flame of hopefulness because we know that hopelessness is the enemy of justice.

To watch the program on Facebook live on the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office page, go here. Other performances included spoken word and music from the Fillmore-based youth organization Project Level, as well as an African drumming ceremony.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On February 25, 2020, a jury acquitted a former Lyft driver, Vincent Perrault, 46, of assault charges related to an incident in which he acted in self-defense when confronted in the street by intoxicated passengers whom he asked to exit his car around 2:00am on December 27, 2016, after they were being disruptive and told him to, “shut up and drive.”

Deputy Public Defender Matthew Sotorosen said, “Mr. Perrault has no criminal history and was not looking for a fight when he asked the four passengers to exit his vehicle because it was unsafe for him to drive. The only reason he got out of the car was to close the door that they had left open, but three of them came after him in the street before he could do so.”

Sotorosen called an expert witness who testified that Mr. Perrault had had a “fear response” when three of the passengers came out into the street to confront him after he got out of the vehicle to close the rear passenger door that they had left open upon exiting curbside. After a verbal altercation that involved some shoving, Mr. Perrault ended up hitting the two male passengers each once. One of the men fell back and hit his head on the pavement, which resulted in a herniated disc that later required surgery.

Mr. Perrault remained at the scene and answered questions from the police. There were segments of the body worn camera footage that had no audio, but it did show that the rear passenger door was still open. Police arrested Mr. Perrault that night, but he was released the next day and no charges were filed at the time.

Charges were only filed almost a year later, by which point Mr. Perrault was living out of state and was unaware of the warrant issued for his arrest in October 2017. He was re-arrested in May 2019, and had to return to San Francisco where public defender Sotorosen got him released pre-trial. However, he was subjected to electronic monitoring for several months, which made it difficult for him to obtain work and caused strain to his family and personal finances.

Sotorosen said, “We certainly take seriously the fact that someone was hurt, but the jury understood that Mr. Perrault had acted reasonably upon a survival instinct by defending himself from the perceived threat of being outnumbered and under attack.”

SAN FRANCISCO – On January 31, 2020, a jury acquitted Troylene Trammell, 57, of vehicular manslaughter, finding Ms. Trammell was not negligent. The tragic accident on a March 2017 night took the life of a woman crossing an unregulated crosswalk at Mission and Ney Streets.

Jurors learned that the crosswalk was positioned mid-block, with no signage or traffic lights at the time. The low visibility in that area made it difficult for drivers to see pedestrians. Surveillance video showed that other drivers in front of Ms. Trammel also had not stopped despite a pedestrian in the crosswalk. By the time Ms. Trammell saw the woman, who had almost finished crossing, it was too late. The woman was taken to the hospital where she died hours later.  

Deputy Public Defender Seiya Johnson explained that Ms. Trammell has been a pillar of her community in the Bayview, dedicating her life to mentoring disadvantaged youths. She also is the primary caregiver for her disabled adult sister, who was in the car with her that night. The jurors heard from Ms. Trammell’s son and a close friend who testified about her character. The jury ultimately determined that this was a terrible accident rather than the result of any negligence.

“The jurors were incredibly thoughtful and even presented a note to the judge attached to their verdict, asking if there was anything they could do to make that intersection safer,” said Johnson. “This was a very emotional case, and there is no happy ending. A woman lost her life and Ms. Trammell’s heart will forever ache for the woman and her family.”