"Every member of my team could cut their workload in half, and they would still have more than a full-time job. The heavy workload affects the quality of representation my office can provide, which violates the human rights of defendants and negatively impacts my staff."
"Their objective is to disrupt the system, it's to cause chaos, it is to bottleneck the courthouse. Raju's actions are disrupting the justice system and could lead to violent defendants being released due to lack of legal representation."
San Francisco's public defender, Mano Raju, was fined $26,000 for ignoring a court order to stop rejecting cases. Raju cited a heavy workload and insufficient staffing as reasons for declining to represent some defendants. He plans to appeal the ruling while emphasizing that the quality of representation is compromised, affecting defendants' rights and staff well-being. The situation has drawn support from public defenders across California, while the District Attorney argues that Raju's actions disrupt the justice system and could lead to dangerous defendants being released.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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