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Public Defender Jeff Adachi Sworn-in For Fifth Term

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PUBLIC DEFENDER JEFF ADACHI SWORN IN FOR FIFTH TERM “We’ve come together on this special day/Send a message loud and clear”- Earth, Wind, & Fire

San Francisco, CA— It might have been raining outside, but inside was all Earth, Wind & Fire as musician and singer Tasche warmed up the crowd gathered at the fifth inauguration of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi on Tuesday morning. The ceremony took place in the Public Defender’s building and was officiated by Mayor London Breed. Breed made a point of describing her long relationship with Adachi, which began when she used to see him at her housing project when he came to visit clients. Mayor Breed was also in attendance four years ago as a supervisor when Adachi was sworn-in for his fourth term, causing Chief Attorney Matt Gonzalez to quip that newly elected District 10 Supervisor in attendance, Shamann Walton, might just end up with a higher office in his future. Gonzalez made a brief introduction to the event by thanking the elected officials in the crowd such as Walton, Judge Roger Chan, and District Attorney George GascÓn. Also in attendance was former San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Brown, who himself had served five terms prior to Adachi. Gonzalez said that it was “critical” that San Francisco have an elected public defender, an institutional rarity that he said ensures valuable independence. Since Adachi has been Public Defender, the office has indeed grown significantly into an entity with over 100 attorneys, 80 support staff, and service to more than 20,000 clients each year. His sixteen-year tenure has brought critical resources to the department such as computers and sophisticated research tools, as well as paralegals, social workers, and a greatly expanded investigation unit.

In addition to boots-on-the-ground resources, Adachi has overseen the creation of the Clean Slate Program, which helps clear the records of approximately 2,000 clients per year. Mayor Breed also praised the office’s MAGIC programs – Mobilization For Adolescent Growth In our Communities—as well as efforts the Public Defender made to eliminate costly fines and fees associated with clients’ cases, a model that is being replicated nationally, she said. After Adachi raised his right hand took his oath of office, promising to “well and faithfully” fulfill his duties, he said that the day’s significance had left him “speechless, which I never am.”

Nevertheless, he thanked his staff and colleagues and described his goal of creating a public defender’s office that “treated clients just as we would want to be treated” if they ever found themselves in the same position. He reminisced about moving into the office’s current location apart from the Hall of Justice, where clients can have the dignity of a space that is no longer directly adjacent to the police department. Adachi also said that he was proud to preside over one of the most diverse public defender office’s in the country, with a staff that is 40 percent people of color, 20 percent LGBTQ, and 50 percent female. He looked forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office in 2021, promising a “big celebration.”

He also described how proud he was of the immigration defense unit and programs that lift up and support youth, such as, the MAGIC program and Juvenile Unit.

As he neared closing, he brought it all back to Earth, Wind, & Fire, reciting the lines, “’Child is born/With a heart of gold/Way of the world/Makes his heart so cold’ –We need to change that,” he said. “A big part of that is ensuring that our kids have opportunities.” Going forward, Adachi stressed that his office will remain dedicated to providing the highest level of representation to its clients as it continues on its path towards true justice for all.

An Innocent Man

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Tenants’ Rights Attorney Finally Gets Justice San Francisco—A tenant’s rights attorney who fatally injured a man in self-defense in the Tenderloin was acquitted of on all counts today, Public Defender Jeff Adachi has announced.

Carlos Argueta, 35, was tried for second degree robbery and murder after he became involved in a tussle outside a bar on Sixth Street in September of 2015. The case has resulted in a three-year nightmare for Mr. Argueta, who’s case was originally dismissed by a judge on the grounds that it was a case of self-defense. The District Attorney then decided to take the case to a grand jury, and Mr. Argueta found himself facing trial again. He could have been convicted of one of three charges: second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. The jury acquitted him of all three, and the judge in the trial, Samuel Feng, dismissed the robbery charge mid-trial. The night began when Argueta and an intern at this office had gone out to the bar near their work. Though both had drinks, the intern became very intoxicated, and the jury saw surveillance video of him weaving down the street, with Argueta attempting to help him. On their way, the intern mistakenly grabbed a backpack that belonged to James “Rick” Thomas, and that was when the trouble began. An angered Thomas can be seen on the video wrestling the bag from the intern. Argueta, thinking that Thomas was trying to take his friend’s bag, attempted to get it and Thomas and Argueta were soon tussling over it, with Argueta pinned up against a car. More people joined the fray, and the intern was struck over the head with a skateboard. At this point, Argueta attempted to leave the situation but was surrounded by a group of men. When he emerged from the group, with his hands up in a “surrender” pose,” his messenger bag was no longer with him. Both he and the intern began to head up Market Street, but were again pursued by Thomas and a group of men. On the surveillance footage, men could be seen pushing the intern into the ground and Thomas could be seen hitting swinging his backpack at Argueta.

At this point, fearing being overpowered, Argueta pulled out a knife to defend himself. The men retreated, but Argueta realized that he didn’t have his messenger bag and that it had important documents inside it related to his law clients. He returned to the last place he had it to look for it, and once there, Thomas could be seen on video punching him in the ear as a struggle ensued. In an automatic response, Argueta pushed Thomas away with the knife in his hand, injuring him fatally.

“Carlos was the last person who would ever intentionally stab anyone or try to hurt them,” said Adachi. “This case was a tragic accident, not an intentional killing. We thank the jurors for their hard work in arriving at a verdict based on the evidence.”

Character witnesses testified in the case and Mr. Argueta himself took the stand to tell his side of the story. When the not guilty verdicts were read, he wept, along with members of his family. But Adachi told the jury that Mr. Argueta will live with the tragic event for the rest of his life. “Carlos thinks about that night every day,” said Adachi. “It was a terrible accident and our hearts go out to the Thomas family.”

Bad Samaritans

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December 14, 2018: A victim of an attack in the Tenderloin is acquitted for attempted murder

San Francisco—A man who was jumped and beaten in the Tenderloin was acquitted for attempted murder on Thursday, Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

Cheasarack Chong, 29, was defending himself when he stabbed one of his attackers, Deputy Public Defender Crystal Carpino said. “Mr. Chong is a hardworking young man who came to SF in 2017 to make a better life for himself,” said Carpino. “He never expected that he would land in jail for defending himself from an unprovoked attack.” Mr. Chong testified that he was on his way to work on Taylor Street in July when a man accused him of walking over his feet. The man reared up and threw a punch at Mr. Chong, missing him, and Mr. Chong kicked the man back in self-defense. An onlooker saw this skirmish, and, assuming Mr. Chong was the aggressor, confronted him and then pushed him several times. Mr. Chong hit him back in self-defense. Jurors could see Mr. Chong on video, backing up and trying to extricate himself from the situation, until another stranger arrived and intervened. As the video showed, the stranger put down his bags and began beating Mr. Chong, knocking him down to the ground. Others then joined in, and Mr. Chong could be seen being beaten by three people, including the man who first accused him of walking over his feet. During this attack, his wallet was stolen and his glasses were knocked off his face. Eventually Mr. Chong escaped the attack and ran across the street to call 911. He told the police what happened and was transferred the hospital to have his wounds treated. When he was later released, he testified that he realized that he had to go back to the scene of the assault to look for remnants of his wallet and most importantly, his glasses. He can’t see without them and needed them in order to go to work. Being a bit nervous to go back there, he felt that he should bring a knife with him just in case, he testified. Mr. Chong was captured on surveillance video looking in the gutter for his glasses when his original aggressor began to taunt him and threatened to beat him up again. When the aggressor reached into his bag, Mr. Chong said he feared for his life, and he stabbed the man in self-defense. The wound resulted in a cut to the man’s arm and chest, neither of which required stitches, staples, or glue. “Mr. Chong demonstrated strength and honesty when he testified about why he went back to look for his glasses,” said Carpino. “Fortunately, the jury took this case very seriously and rendered the correct verdict.”

The jury remained hung 9 to 3 for guilt on a second charge of assault with a deadly weapon, but fully exonerated Mr. Chong for attempted murder. Had he been convicted, he would have been facing life in prison, Carpino said.

“Mr. Chong was the victim of a vicious assault and did what he had to do when confronted again as he tried to get back his meager possessions,” said Adachi. “The jury understood the trauma and fear he experienced and rightly voted not guilty.”

The Time is NOW to Strengthen Miranda Rights For Youth

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Patti Lee of our office’s Juvenile Unit spoke at a hearing this week about the need to pass legislation to strengthen the rights of children in SF that are arrested. The new law would expand Miranda consults for all youth 17 and younger who find themselves in a custodial interrogation by SFPD.

“If we get this legislation passed, it will mean a new day for so many of our young clients,” she said.

The SF Weekly covered the hearing here:

 

Youth Policing in Question After Balboa High Gun Lockdown

Criminal Justice Reformers Launch “Debt Free Justice California”

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Our office is proud to join forces with many criminal justice reform entities as a part of newly-launched Debt Free Justice California. The SF Public Defender’s Office has worked hard to reduce the fines and fees that many people face who have already served their sentence,  and also manage to reduce the cases with the most important a criminal attorney Orlando service which took care of mainly the biggest cases in the defender’s office.

This year, San Francisco repealed all county-authorized fees and waived over $30 million dollars in outstanding criminal justice debt owned by 12,000 mostly low-income San Franciscans. Through the DFJC, we hope that more counties will follow our encouraging lead! You can learn more about the DFJC by visiting its website at https://ebclc.org/cadebtjustice/about/

Jury Rejects Idea That Theft of Socks Should Be A Felony

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FELONIOUS FOOTWEAR?

Jury rejects idea that theft of socks should be a felony

San Francisco—A woman was acquitted of felony robbery charges on Wednesday for taking a pair of socks from a shop in Fisherman’s Wharf this summer, Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

Raymoan Shaw, 30, admitted to the lesser charge of misdemeanor petty theft, but had she been found guilty of felony robbery, Ms. Shaw would have faced a first “strike” and six years in prison, Deputy Public Defender Elizabeth Camacho said.

The jury found that Ms. Shaw used “no force or fear” when she pocketed a pair of anklet socks, making the more serious charge of robbery unfounded. The prosecution also provided no surveillance video of Ms. Shaw in the store to back up its case that her actions warranted a felony charge.

“This was a simple petty theft case of a homeless woman who wanted the dignity of having a clean pair of socks,” said Camacho. “The overcharging involved with hitting her with a major felony and possibly years in prison was an assault on fairness.”

The evidence showed that as Ms. Shaw exited the store with the socks, the store manager followed her and filmed her on her phone. Ms. Shaw, who is transgender, testified that she did not know that the woman following her worked at the shop and she assumed it was someone harassing her for her gender identity. Fearing she was being taunted, Ms. Shaw knocked the phone out of the manager’s hand. The manager testified that she agreed that Ms. Shaw knocked the phone from her hand not because she was trying to get away with stealing the pair of socks, but because she did not want to be photographed.

The police soon arrived and body-worn police cameras revealed to the jury images of the officers detaining Ms. Shaw, hog-tying her, and arresting her.

The jury ultimately found Ms. Shaw guilty of misdemeanor resisting arrest and battery on a police officer for scratching one of them, Camacho said.

“Ms. Shaw had to face the indignity of being surrounded by six police officers and then arrested, all for taking a pair of socks,” said Adachi. “Then she was slapped with a bogus felony charge that could have dramatically impacted her life. Thankfully, the jury viewed the facts fairly and she was acquitted of that charge.”

But her suffering still has not ended, said Adachi. “She is still in jail, and should be released.”

Letter from Public Defender Jeff Adachi to Mayor London Breed

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Public Defender Jeff Adachi sent the following letter to London Breed today to oppose an idea being floated to transfer inmates from San Francisco to Alameda County, should SF Jail #4 close permanently. To quote Jeff, “San Francisco needs to be at the forefront of the movement to end mass incarceration. We need to stop dealing with poverty and public health problems by throwing people in jail. Neither building a new jail nor moving people to a substandard jail in another county will solve these problems. San Francisco needs to lead the way on this issue.”

Here is the letter:

November 2, 2018

Dear Mayor Breed,

It has come to my attention that you may be considering approving the transfer of some inmates from the SF County Jail, many of whom are our clients, to Santa Rita or Glen E. Dyer Jails in Alameda County. Although I am keenly aware of the poor condition of SF County Jail #4 and the need to close it as soon as possible, I urge you to reject the proposal to transfer people to Alameda County.

My staff and I visit clients at County Jail #4 on a daily basis, and can see for ourselves how inadequate and potentially dangerous that facility is. But, the option of transferring our clients to Alameda County is much worse. There are many reasons for this:

Legal representation of our clients. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office prides itself in having the highest standards of criminal defense, not just among public defenders, but, among all criminal defense attorneys. But, we cannot provide excellent service to our clients without access to them. Our staff of 103 attorneys need to meet withour in-custody clients regularly to develop their defense. At present, we visit our clients around the corner at 7th and Bryant, and also must travel to the San Bruno Jail. Having to travel to Dublin and Oakland as well would mean much more travel time for attorneys and travel expense for the City, and because our attorneys already have large caseloads, compromised defense for our clients. I was working as a Deputy Public Defender in the early 1990’s when San Francisco, for a brief time, housed clients in Alameda. I can personally attest that it was disastrous decision which was reversed after just a few weeks, since it was impossible for clients to be properly represented by our attorneys.

Access to families and loved ones. There is an overwhelming consensus that having strong community, family and support systems correlates greatly to lower recidivism and better outcomes in general. All of our clients are indigent, and traveling to Dublin will be a hardship for their families and communities. This will result in less contact with support systems, faith communities, mentors, etc. and ultimately poorer outcomes for our clients. Children will have less contact with their incarcerated parents causing trauma for them. In fact, the lack of family contact and community support will inevitably convince more clients to plead guilty in cases they could have won, just to get back to their loved ones.

Risk of illegal entanglement with Immigration & Customs Enforcement. San Francisco is a Sanctuary City and all government departments, including our Sheriff’s Department, are committed to this policy. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Alameda County Sheriff. Non-citizens there are routinely apprehended by ICE upon their release from Santa Rita, and then subjected to indefinite detention and deportation—even if the non-citizen is ultimately acquitted of the charges against them or if those charges are dropped. San Francisco should not contract with any facility, such as Santa Rita, that has such an abysmal track record of colluding with ICE and its deportation machine.

The Alameda County jails are notoriously plagued by abuses and substandard conditions. Besides the additional cost of sending people to Alameda, San Francisco will expose itself to lawsuits from inmates and civil rights advocates. Just within the past year and a half:

* Four Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputies were charged with felony assault under the color of authority for abusing inmates. Two of them were also charged with witness intimidation and conspiracy to obstruct justice. (East Bay Times, 9/5/17)

* Another Sheriff’s Deputy was charged with assault by a public officer and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury for staging an attack on an inmate by other inmates. (East Bay Times, 9/7/18)

* 386 inmates were taken away by ICE after the Alameda County Sheriff shared their release information with that agency. (KCBS Radio, 10/2/18)

* The Alameda District Attorney filed charges against a Sheriff’s office sergeant for illegally recording conversations between minors and their attorneys. (Oaklandnorth.net, 10/5/18)

* A woman in labor was locked in solitary confinement and gave birth alone in a cold, dirty concrete cell after guards ignored her cries for help. She and several other women have files suit against the Santa Rita jail for abuses while they were pregnant. (SF Chronicle, 8/20/18)

San Francisco does not need to send County inmates to Alameda. There are better solutions:

Release people who are eligible for bail. The California Court of appeals in the Humphrey decision said that no one should be held in jail pretrial just because they cannot afford bail. Yet over 80% of the San Francisco jail population is being held pre-trial. Hundreds of these people are bail-eligible yet are being held in custody, because San Francisco has among the highest bails in the country. The Humphrey decision also held that the court should consider the least restrictive release conditions necessary to ensure public safety and a return to court. A wide array of release conditions are available here in San Francisco. The court or the sheriff should make use of these options to release anyone to Pretrial Services who is bail-eligible.

Prioritize Public Health treatment beds over jail beds. According to DPH’s presentation to the Work Group to Re-envision the Jail, an average of close to 200 people on any given day are sitting in SF County Jails waiting for transfer to behavioral health facilities. According to the DA’s presentation at the same meeting, individuals in Behavioral Health Court wait in jail an average of 120 days waiting for a bed in the community. The County must commit resources to getting people out of jail who need treatment. Both DPH facilities and community providers should be utilized. Jail is the worst possible place for people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse problems.

Provide supportive housing rather than cycling the unhoused in and out of jail. By all accounts, more than a third of the people in County jail at any time are homeless at the time of arrest. Many more are made homeless by their incarceration. The jail is an inappropriate, harmful and expensive solution to San Francisco’s homelessness crisis. People living on our streets need appropriate supportive housing, not jail beds.

San Francisco needs to be at the forefront of the movement to end mass incarceration. We need to stop dealing with poverty and public health problems by throwing people in jail. Neither building a new jail nor moving people to a substandard jail in another county will solve these problems. San Francisco needs to lead the way on this issue.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to continuing to work with you on criminal justice reform.

Sincerely,

Jeff Adachi

San Francisco Public Defender

Behavioral Health Court Graduation Shines

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Apologies for the cliche, but there truly was not a ‘dry eye in the house’ at today’s moving Behavioral Health Court graduation. Clients shared their stories and struggles and received much deserved applause for their hard work.

Public Defender Jeff Adachi said it best: “The Behavioral Health Court is an innovative model of providing critical wrap-around services to those who desperately need mental health treatment”. To borrow the words of Maya Angelou, “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” We rejoice in your individual and collective achievements through the BHC and look forward to your continued progress and success in the future. Congratulations graduates!”

Attorney Andrew Ganz Suspended for Prosecutorial Misconduct

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*** PRESS RELEASE ***

 ATTORNEY ANDREW GANZ SUSPENDED FROM BAR FOR PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT

Justice may be blind, but she has very sophisticated listening devices. –Edgar Argo

San Francisco – San Francisco prosecutor Andrew Ganz has been found guilty of prosecutorial misconduct through “clear and convincing evidence,” the State Bar of California announced on Monday.

Specifically, Ganz is being sanctioned for suppressing evidence and misrepresenting it to the defense, violating the defendant’s constitutional rights, and not following California law when he hid evidence of the medical examiner’s opinions and statements in a 2014 homicide case in Vallejo, CA.

Most notably, these findings of prosecutorial misconduct mirror similar accusations Ganz is currently facing in another homicide case in SF, People vs. Carlos Arugeta.

Argueta’s attorney, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, filed a motion to dismiss his client’s homicide case in September based on the actions of Ganz.

The motion stated that Ganz, who was prosecuting the case, omitted critical parts of the medical examiner’s opinion and changed the key eyewitness’ testimony before the grand jury, after the case was initially thrown out by a judge.

“His actions in this case reveal the same disregard for his duties as a prosecutor,” wrote Adachi in the motion, citing Ganz’ hearing in front of the State Bar.

“Ganz—a prosecutor sworn to uphold the truth—has now been caught influencing the testimony of a medical examiner and then lying about it,” said Adachi. “The State Bar recognized this and rightly found him guilty of abusing his position and subverting justice.”

This decision hopefully will serve as a notice to district attorney’s offices throughout the state, Adachi said.

The California State Bar has placed Ganz on probation for two years, suspension for 90 days, and a one-year stayed suspension.

“I hope that prosecutors everywhere will take note that they will be held accountable for falsifying or hiding evidence,” said Adachi. “We will no longer look the other way and allow those who are trusted to uphold the law corrupt our most sacred process—the right to a fair trial.”

 

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To Quote Queen, We Are The Champions…. Of Public Defense!

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SF Public Defender’s Office Wins NACDL “Champion of Public Defense” Award

We are proud to announce that the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (or NACDL) has chosen our office for a Champion of Public Defense Award for our “exceptional efforts in making positive changes to a local, state, or federal public defense system,” according to Robert Toale, chair of the NACDL.

The SF Public Defender’s Office and the work of Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin is being recognized for its pretrial justice and bail reform work. Chesa has worked tirelessly to bring common-sense bail reform to California, litigating the issue to the California Court of Appeals– and winning.

The award will also be given to the Civil Rights Corps for its important work on these issues.

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