Glide Memorial Church Announcements

Sunday, September 22^nd, at 9 and 11 am Celebrations, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju will be speaking about how Public Defenders work with community to further liberation, safety, and health through justice! A son of immigrants from India, Mano Raju’s pursuit of justice is rooted in his acute awareness of the ramifications of social inequalities. Despite coming from a farming village, his parents managed to emigrate to America, where they raised Mano on the East Coast. Mano completed his undergraduate degree at Columbia University, and holds a Master’s degree in South Asian Studies from U.C. Berkeley, where he also earned his law degree. 

Mano is deeply committed to a client and community-centered approach to defense work. “Our impact is not measured in numbers, but in the people we represent,” he said. “It’s by the mother who can return home to her family. The son who can continue to work to support his family. And to the children of those we defend, who benefit from having an equal opportunity to survive and who might one day use that opportunity to lead.” The personal interest he takes in his clients’ lives helps fuel him not only to fiercely litigate and win cases, but also to raise his voice against the inequities he and his clients encounter in the criminal legal system. 

As the only elected Public Defender in California, Mano continues to uphold the Office’s reputation not only as a formidable group of lawyers, paralegals, social workers, investigators and support staff, but also as a catalyst for criminal legal system change in  local and state-wide arenas.