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Mission Dispatch -- > From Adachi > 2
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Solving San Francisco’s Budget Problems
By Jeff Adachi, SF Public Defender, Dec 22, 2009
How would you act if you knew that your household spending was projected to outpace your earnings? You would cut back on vacation plans, dining out, and other unaffordable spending. You would figure out what you could and could not live with, and make the necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, San Francisco’s city government has not done this. For the tenth consecutive year, the city faces a growing budget deficit. Next year’s deficit is projected to be $522 million. In addition, a $53 million dollar shortfall is expected in the current fiscal year. But this is not because there isn’t enough money to cover essential services. It’s because the political will hasn’t existed to make the tough decisions that would bring our city’s budgetary spending into line.
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The Importance of Jury Duty
By Jeff Adachi, Sep 02, 2009
Last November, millions of people across the nation stood in agonizingly long lines to exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice. The result would have been pandemonium had anyone dared interfere with that right. After all, voting is a form of civic participation that is a cornerstone of our democracy. So is another equally important civic duty of ours – jury service. However, many people called upon to fulfill this civic responsibility will barely open their jury summons before they begin devising ways to get exempted from jury service
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Let Your Supervisor Know You Support the Public Defender
By Jeff Adachi, SF Public Defender, Jul 14, 2009
When I was elected Public Defender in 2002, I set out to ensure that the Public Defender’s Office was properly staffed and had the necessary resources to competently represent its clients. Part of the oath I took requires that I “protect the U.S. Constitution,” at all costs. With the onset of the recession, we have seen the number of people who need legal services increase, while our office’s resources have decreased. This is because there are fewer people in this economy who can afford to hire an attorney.
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Should Undocumented Youth Be Presumed Guilty?
By Jeff Adachi, SF Public Defender, Apr 16, 2009
Carlos B. (not his real name) came to the United States from Mexico when he was 10-years-old with his parents who settled in San Francisco. Smart and determined, Carlos learned to speak English fluently in one year, excelled in school and eventually earned a 3.8 grade point average at Mission High School. One day, Carlos, 14, was arrested by police for possessing a BB gun. Because he was a minor, he was taken to the Youth Guidance Center. Probation officials suspected that Carlos was undocumented and reported him to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Carlos suddenly faced the prospect of deportation and being separated from his family.
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The Mission: Building Effective Partnership Between Police and Community
By Jeff Adachi, SF Public Defender, Nov 10, 2008
Stuffed animals and candles depicting religious icons adorn a makeshift memorial honoring a life recently cut short by a bullet. An elderly woman gingerly lays a bouquet of yellow roses on the cracked pavement beside a sun-faded Polaroid of the young man who died at the very place where his picture now lies. Young men in air brushed RIP t-shirts gather to pay their respects before continuing on to school or work.
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