Welcome!
San Francisco has long been at the forefront of legal efforts to protect consumers, defend the integrity of our public institutions and advance civil rights for every American. I'm proud to continue that tradition as City Attorney, and my office remains committed to providing our City with the highest caliber legal representation. It is my pleasure to offer this Web site as a means to make my office more open and accessible to the people it serves. Thanks for visiting.
Sincerely,
DENNIS J. HERRERA
City Attorney of San Francisco
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutional challenge to California's Prop 8 by the end of June. The case is a federal challenge brought by the American Foundation for Equal Rights on behalf of two California couples who are represented by Ted Olson and David Boies. City Attorney Dennis Herrera joined them as co-counsel in the case when the City and County of San Francisco intervened as a co-plaintiff on Aug. 19, 2009.
As the New York Times reported in a recent front-page profile, Herrera's office "has been involved in every phase of the legal war over same-sex marriage in California," going back more than nine years.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera has filed suit against three gun accessories companies and a gun show promoter for selling disassembled high-capacity magazines in California in violation of a state law that prohibits the sale, manufacture, or import of gun ammunition feeding devices that accept more than 10 rounds. The equipment is marketed as gun magazine "repair kits" in a barely-disguised attempt to skirt a 14-year-old California gun safety law, according to Herrera's complaint.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is engaged in litigation against Monster Beverage Corporation for violating California law with its marketing of highly-caffeinated energy drinks to children as young as six-years-old, despite scientific findings that such products may cause "significant morbidity in adolescents" from elevated blood pressure, brain seizures, and severe cardiac events.
City Attorney Herrera has launched a formal investigation into allegations that the State of Nevada was extensively involved in "patient dumping" -- busing hundreds of indigent people who suffer from mental health afflictions to out-of-state locations, including San Francisco, "with inadequate provisions of food and medication, and without prior arrangements for their care, housing or medical treatment upon arrival." The investigation remains ongoing.
MAJOR CASE
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in a potentially landmark case to which S.F. is a co-plaintiff, setting the stage for what could be a decisive showdown on what some have described as the civil rights issue of our time. Read the City's history in the fight here.
MAJOR CASE
The City has launched a formal investigation into allegations that the State of Nevada was extensively involved in "patient dumping" -- busing hundreds of indigent people who suffer from mental health afflictions to out-of-state locations, including San Francisco.
LEGAL MEMO
Redistricting and its effect on term limits
With the redistricting process underway, a new City Attorney memorandum addresses questions raised about the potential impact of redistricting on current members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
GANGS
The City Attorney's Office worked with the ACLU and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights to establish a free administrative process by which individuals named in civil gang injunctions may petition to "opt out."
INTERNSHIP
Students currently enrolled in accredited law schools are eligible to participate in the City Attorney's intern program. Learn more here.
