Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of California’s San Francisco Office

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of California's San Francisco Office is dedicated to the defense of clients charged with federal offenses who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Federal Defenders are appointed to represent the accused upon arrest and through the completion of all appeals, including the U.S. Supreme Court and federal habeas corpus review. Charges they defend against include petty offenses, multi-defendant conspiracies, sophisticated computer crimes, international smuggling cases, economic crimes, child pornography crimes, drug offenses, weapons offenses, immigration offenses, and violent crimes. The Northern District of California stretches along the coast from Monterey County in the south to the Oregon border in the north. It includes the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma. Federal Public Defenders provide a vigorous defense at trial and, if the defendant is convicted, on appeal. They advocate for humane sentences by developing mitigation evidence and presenting judges with fully developed views of their clients as people, not criminals.