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Watch, share, and join the movement for justice that listens, respects, and transforms.
In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, we go beyond courtroom strategy to explore what justice really looks like—inside and outside the system.
From the philosophy of “rocking with your client” to the quiet violence of plea deals, this discussion centers the human relationships at the heart of public defense. Mano shares how his office prioritizes early, relational meetings with clients, visits to family homes, and deep listening—not just to build trust, but to shift outcomes.
We also confront the systemic pressures that lead people to plead guilty out of fear, and how programs like Be the Jury, End the Cycle, Cop Monitor, and community expert initiatives are working to rebalance power and restore fairness.
Topics Covered:
- Relational advocacy and client-centered defense
- Procedural justice and body language in court
- State violence through plea deals and systemic pressure
- Community-led reform programs and their impact
- The evolving philosophy of public defense in San Francisco
Speakers
Rae is the Program Director for Local Change Work at the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI), where she leads the groundbreaking “Willful Flight: Shifting Policy and Culture” project—an effort to transform pretrial practices in the Boston Municipal Court by replacing outdated “failure to appear” standards with a more equitable “willful flight” approach. With over 25 years of public service experience spanning social work, education, mediation, and law, Rae brings deep expertise to the creation and evaluation of research-based policies. She holds degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work from the University of Michigan, as well as a JD from Marquette University Law School. A proud Midwesterner turned Las Vegas local, Rae is driven by a lifelong commitment to justice—and by a deep belief that pretrial reform is more than a job; it's her love language.
Manohar Raju is the elected San Francisco Public Defender. As the only elected Public Defender in California and an elected member, Manohar 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. A son of immigrants from India, his pursuit of justice is rooted in his acute awareness of the ramifications of social inequalities. Manohar 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.