Manohar Raju

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, Raju previously served as Deputy Public Defender, and managed the office's Felony Division.[1]

Manohar Raju
San Francisco Public Defender
Assumed office
March 11, 2019
Preceded byJeff Adachi
Personal details
BornWilmington, Delaware
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materColumbia University (B.A.)
University of California, Berkeley (J.D., M.A.)
ProfessionLawyer
Politician

Early life and education

Raju was born in Wilmington, Delaware to parents from Allinagaram, Tamil Nadu. His father, Palanichamy Pillai Raj, was an engineer, and his mother, Dhanam, worked in skincare. Raju was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Boston, Massachusetts.[2]

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."[3] He later attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his law degree and a master's degree in South Asian Studies.[4]

Career

Raju worked for seven years as a public defender in Contra Costa County before joining the San Francisco Public Defender's office in 2008.[5][6] Raju was a founding member of Public Defenders for Racial Justice.[7]

Public Defender of San Francisco

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."[7] Raju was elected to a full term in office in the November 2019 without opposition.[8]

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.[9] In 2021, Raju sued the San Francisco County Superior Court over the continued imprisonment of inmates past their trial deadlines.[10]

Personal life

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.[3]

References
  1. "Mayor London Breed Names Manohar Raju to Serve as San Francisco Public Defender | Office of the Mayor". sfmayor.org. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  2. Haniffa, Aziz. "Manohar Raju creates history by becoming San Francisco's Public Defender". IndiaAbroad.com. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  3. Haniffa, Aziz. "Manohar Raju creates history by becoming San Francisco's Public Defender". IndiaAbroad.com. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  4. "The Leadership". San Francisco Public Defender's Office. 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  5. "Manohar Raju, Felony Public Defender, Appointed by Mayor to Adachi's Seat". SF Weekly. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  6. "Editorial: Raju for public defender". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  7. Fracassa, Dominic (2019-03-11). "SF Mayor Breed chooses Manohar Raju as city's new public defender — choice praised by staff". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  8. "City and County of San Francisco November 5, 2019, Consolidated Municipal Election Final Summary Report" (PDF). Department of Elections of the City and County of San Francisco. November 25, 2019.
  9. "San Francisco Officials Push to Reduce Jail Population to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak". The Appeal. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  10. Cholula, Nicolas. "San Francisco Public Defender sues Superior Court of California". Golden Gate Xpress. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.