Manohar "Mano" Raju | |
---|---|
San Francisco Public Defender | |
Assumed office March 11, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Jeff Adachi |
Personal details | |
Born | Wilmington,Delaware,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Columbia University (BA) University of California,Berkeley (JD,MA) |
Profession | Lawyer Politician |
Manohar Raju is an American attorney who has served as Public Defender of San Francisco since 2019. Appointed by Mayor London Breed to replace the late Jeff Adachi,Manohar "Mano" Raju previously served as Deputy Public Defender,and managed the office's Felony Division. [1]
Raju has been described as a supporter of criminal justice reform and decarceral policies. [2]
Raju was born in Wilmington,Delaware to parents from Allinagaram,Tamil Nadu,India. His father,Palanichamy Pillai Raj,was an engineer,and his mother,Dhanam,worked in skincare. Raju was raised in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania and Boston,Massachusetts. [3]
Raju attended Columbia University,where he received his undergraduate degree. While at Columbia,he was a research assistant for Kendall Thomas,who Raju described as "one of the founding scholars of Critical Race Theory." [4] He later attended the University of California,Berkeley,where he received his J.D. and a master's degree in South Asian Studies. [5]
Raju worked for seven years as a public defender in Contra Costa County before joining the San Francisco Public Defender's office in 2008. [6] [7] Raju was a founding member of Public Defenders for Racial Justice. [8]
As manager of the office's felony unit,Raju criticized the lack of representation in jury pools,noting in 2017 that:
"It’s not uncommon that you’ll walk into a felony trial with an African American client and turn around and see anywhere from zero to maybe three African Americans in the whole jury pool" [9]
Following Jeff Adachi's death in 2019,Raju was appointed Public Defender of San Francisco by Mayor London Breed. [1] Matt Gonzalez,who briefly served as acting Public Defender in Adachi's place,praised the appointment of Raju,stating "If I could have made the choice on my own,I would have chosen him." [8]
Raju was elected to a full term in office in the November 2019 without opposition. [10] In 2022,Raju faced a challenge from Rebecca Young,an assistant district attorney and former deputy public defender who previously served under Raju. [11] In the first contested race for the position in 20 years,Raju comfortably won reelection with 69.75% of the vote per provisional totals. [12]
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,Raju pushed for the release of pre-trial defendants deemed at a heightened risk from the virus from county jails. [13] In 2021,Raju sued the San Francisco County Superior Court over the continued imprisonment of inmates past their trial deadlines. [14] During his tenure,Raju has endorsed efforts to improve pay for individuals serving jury duty. [15]
As Public Defender,Raju has identified curbing the "macho" atmosphere in the office and prioritizing diversity in the ranks as priorities. On matters of criminal justice reform,Raju favors the creation of an integrity unit within the office to investigate potentially unfair convictions. [16] Raju was among the public officials to criticize Mayor London Breed's declaration of a state of emergency in the Tenderloin neighborhood,arguing that incarcerating homeless residents and individuals with substance abuse disorder would not solve problems facing the community. [17]
Following Xavier Becerra's resignation as Attorney General of California,Raju co-authored an op-ed calling for Assemblyman Ash Kalra to replace him. [18] Following Brooke Jenkins' accession to the position of District Attorney,Raju criticized Jenkins' support for expanding cash bail,arguing that "[p]re-trial detention is a coercive tactic used to pressure people who can not afford to pay bail to take a plea deal for a crime they did not commit." [19] In the 2022 special election for District Attorney,Raju endorsed Jenkins' unsuccessful opponent John Hamasaki. [20]
Raju is married to Asha Mehta,with whom he has one son. Regarding his position,Raju said he views "public defender work as falling within the tradition of broader freedom struggles that have always relied upon multiracial solidarities",and cited the activism of Bayard Rustin of Ram Manohar Lohia. [4]
Matthew Edward Gonzalez is an American politician,lawyer,and activist. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2001 to 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003,Gonzalez,running as a member of the Green Party,lost a race for mayor of San Francisco to Democrat Gavin Newsom. In the 2008 presidential election,Gonzalez ran for vice president as the running mate of candidate Ralph Nader. As of February 2024,he works as the Chief Attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office.
Jeffrey Gordon Adachi was an American attorney,pension reform advocate,and politician who served as the Public Defender of San Francisco from 2003 to 2019.
The San Francisco Board of Education is the school board for the City and County of San Francisco. It is composed of seven Commissioners,elected by voters across the city to serve 4-year terms. It is subject to local,state,and federal laws,and determines policy for all the K-12 public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District.
Chesa Boudin is an American lawyer who served as the 29th District Attorney of San Francisco from January 8,2020,to July 8,2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting crimes in the City and County of San Francisco,California,under California state law. The current district attorney is Brooke Jenkins. Occupants of this office have gone on to higher elected offices,including:governor of California,United States senator,and vice president of the United States.
London Nicole Breed is an American politician who is the 45th and current mayor of San Francisco,serving since 2018. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2018.
The San Francisco Public Defender's Office is an agency of the Government of San Francisco. Since 1921,it has provided legal assistance to indigent individuals charged with violations of California state law by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.
The election for mayor of the City and County of San Francisco was held on November 5,2019. Incumbent mayor London Breed,who had previously been elected in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Mayor Ed Lee,was reelected to a first full term in office. All local elections in California are nonpartisan.
A special election was held for Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco on June 5,2018,to fill the remainder of the term of Ed Lee,who had died in office on December 12,2017. Upon Lee's death,London Breed,President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,became Acting Mayor of San Francisco,but a vote of six supervisors replaced Breed with Supervisor Mark Farrell. The mayoral election was held concurrently with the statewide direct primary election. In San Francisco,the election for the eighth district member of the board of supervisors was also on the ballot.
Matthew Craig Haney is an American politician from San Francisco currently serving as a member of the California State Assembly from the 17th district,covering the eastern portion of the city. A progressive member of the Democratic Party,Haney had represented District 6 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2019 to 2022 and previously served as a commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education from 2013 to 2019.
The 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5,2019,to elect the next District Attorney of San Francisco. The election,which was held alongside the 2019 mayoral election in which incumbent mayor London Breed won her first full term,was won by public defender Chesa Boudin.
Connie Chan is an American politician serving as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 1 since January 8,2021,after defeating Marjan Philhour,who ran for the seat in 2016,in a narrow race. Chan is a progressive. District 1 includes the Richmond,Lone Mountain,Sea Cliff,and Presidio Terrace neighborhoods,and parts of Golden Gate Park.
The 2018 election for the San Francisco Board of Education was held on November 6,2018,to elect the next three commissioners for the San Francisco Board of Education.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. It was held on June 7,2022,concurrent with the 2022 statewide primary elections.
The 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections were held on February 15,2022. In a landslide election,over two-thirds of voters chose to remove three San Francisco Board of Education Commissioners—Alison Collins,Board President Gabriela Lopez,and Faauuga Moliga—from office. All three commissioners were replaced by appointees chosen by Mayor London Breed. The other four members of the school board were not eligible for recall at this time.
Kimiko Burton,formerly Kimiko Burton-Cruz,is an American attorney and government official. Burton is serving a second term as a member of the California State Personnel Board after having been reappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019. From 2001 to 2003,Burton served as Public Defender of San Francisco.
Matt Dorsey is an American politician and communications professional. Dorsey has served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 6 since his appointment by Mayor London Breed on May 9,2022. He was elected to a full term in the 2022 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election. He previously served as the Head of Communications for the San Francisco Police Department.
Brooke Jenkins is an American lawyer serving as the 30th District Attorney of San Francisco. On July 8,2022,Jenkins was appointed interim district attorney by Mayor London Breed following the successful recall of Chesa Boudin,for which she actively campaigned. She was elected in her own right to fill the unexpired term the following November.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election was held on November 8,2022,following the successful recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. It was held concurrent with the 2022 statewide general elections.
The 2024 San Francisco District Attorney election will be held on November 5,2024,concurrent with the election for San Francisco mayor and the 2024 statewide general elections.