News & Events

Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced the appointment of Ashfaq (Ron) Chowdhury, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. Ashfaq (Ron) G. Chowdhury, 43, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Chowdhury has served as a deputy federal public defender at the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Central District of California since 2010. He was an associate at Cole […]..

Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California’s DFPD Jonathan Libby successfully convinced the 9th Circuit that our client’s prior convictions for Alabama robbery and California second degree robbery were not crimes of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. The panel vacated a sentence and remanded for resentencing in a case in which the district court imposed an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) (ACCA), on the ground that the defendant had four prior convictions for violent felonies. […]..

The Everychild Foundation announced today that its 2017 $1 million grant has been awarded to the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy (CJLP) at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. The grant, payable over three years, will help launch the Everychild Integrated Educational and Legal Advocacy Project.  The project aims to stop the school-to-prison pipeline for “crossover youth,” the name given to foster youth who are also involved in the juvenile justice system. The program anticipates serving 300 unduplicated such youth. When a child enters the […]..

The Muslim Public Affairs Council annual convention in Los Angeles held a series of panel discussions on bridging the divides in religion, race, and politics. This panel highlighted the challenges between balancing national security and law enforcement with the civil rights of citizens. Our very own Seema Ahmad  was a member of the panel...

Case remanded to Midland Court for review of alleged false testimony Los Angeles, CA. (October 18, 2017) – The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals this morning issued a stay of the October 26 execution of inmate Clinton Young and remanded the case to a Midland District Court to determine if his conviction was based on false testimony. The court’s order comes after the Office of the Federal Public Defender filed papers earlier this month challenging Young’s conviction and sentence. The filing included sworn affidavits from […]..

Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California seeks a stay of October 26th execution. MIDLAND, Tex (Oct. 10, 2017) ­‑ Citing compelling new scientific evidence, a 34-year-old death row inmate has asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate his scheduled October 26 execution for the 2001 murder of a man in Midland. Attorneys for inmate Clinton Young, also have asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that the Governor grant clemency or a reprieve, saying the new […]..

In 2015, in a case called Johnson v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) was void for vagueness.The ACCA is a United States federal law that provides sentencing enhancements for felons who commit crimes with firearms if they are convicted of certain crimes three or more times. If convicted under ACCA, the law imposes a special mandatory prison term of 15 years. Following the Johnson decision, the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central […]..

In honor of the 2017 Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, this year the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California was joined by prominent labor and immigration advocate Eliseo Medina. Mr. Medina arrived to the United States as a child with his family in the 1950s under the Bracero Program. As a teenager, he worked alongside civil rights giant Cesar Chavez organizing farm workers. He later went on to work for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), becoming the first Mexican-American elected to […]..

Today, a graduation ceremony was held at the California Central District’s United States Courthouse in Los Angeles for 10 people who successfully completed the Conviction and Sentence Alternatives (CASA) Program. The event was held in the ceremonial courtroom and presided over by Judges Dolly Gee and Andre Briotte, U.S. District Judges.  Also in attendance were Hon. Paul Abrams, U.S. Magistrate Judge, and Hon. Virginia Phillips, Chief U.S. District Judge. Friends and family attended the graduation ceremony. Staff from the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the […]..

The Substance Abuse Treatment and Reentry (STAR) Program in Los Angeles celebrated the largest graduating class in its history with 8 participants who successfully completed the program. The graduation ceremony was held in the U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles and presided over by the Hon. Otis D. Wright, II.  Also in attendance were Hon. Virginia Phillips, Chief U.S. District Judge, and Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver. Friends and family attended the graduation ceremony. Staff from the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California […]..