2007 Annual 'Excellence in Journalism Gideon Award'

2007 Annual 'Excellence in Journalism Gideon Award' Goes to The San Francisco Chronicle for 'The Use of Force' Series of Articles

Posted : Mon, 14 May 2007 11:08:00 GMT

Author : California Public Defenders Association

Category : PressRelease

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California Public Defenders Association will be honoring a number of individuals at its upcoming annual convention in San Francisco, California on Friday May 18th, including four San Francisco Chronicle staff reporters for the newspaper's criminal justice series published earlier this year entitled "The Use of Force -- When SFPD Officers Resort To Violence."

The series published both in print and via the newspaper's on-line publication examined over 8,600 criminal cases involving the use of force in San Francisco County over an eight year period.

The four Chronicle staff reporters -- Seth Rosenfeld, Elizabeth Fernandez, Bill Wallace and Susan Sward, who authored the series of articles will be presented with the organization's "Gideon Award for Excellence in Journalism."

Other awards that will be presented include the following individuals from throughout the state of California:

Defender of the Year -- Oscar Bobrow, Deputy Public Defender, Contra County, for his many years of effective criminal courts trial work involving issues of race and jury composition.

Defender Program of the Year -- The Homeless Court Program, a high-profile community program established by the San Diego County Public Defender's Office and directed by deputy public defender Steve Binder. The Homeless Court Program assists in the resolution of legal issues facing the homeless in San Diego County and assists them in getting connected with other local agencies designed to help them become active members of the community again.

Among the other awards that will be presented at the function include a special recognition award going to San Francisco Attorney John Grele for his extensive legal work on the issue of the use of lethal injection in capital cases (on behalf of Michael Morales), and for his previous criminal defense work that includes the Kevin Cooper capital case.

California Public Defenders Association