Just ten days after former Police Chief George Gascon was sworn in as the interim District Attorney, a lawyer at the Public Defenders Office is considering asking him to step aside from the high-profile officer-involved shooting of Randal Dunklin, the man in a wheelchair who stabbed an officer, on January 4. more ›

The California Supreme Court made a controversial 5-2 ruling yesterday allowing police to search arrestees' cell phones without a warrant. This finding is said to be in line with decisions made in the 1970s that items on an arrestee's person during an arrest, such as cigarettes or a wallet, can be seized and later examined without a warrant. more ›

Speaking of the Supreme Court (where the Prop 8 case is likely to end up), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg today puts to rest any rumors that she has any retirement plans during Obama's first term. She tells the AP, "If anyone asks how long I'll be here, at least until my Albers comes back," referring to a painting from her office that is on loan to a traveling exhibition until 2012. Ginsburg, age 77, is the oldest sitting Justice on the court — second only to her friend and ideological nemesis Scalia — and she looks forward to being one of three women on the court for the first time this year. Rumors had circulated about her retirement following treatment for pancreatic cancer last year, and the death of her husband of 56 years in June. [AP/Chron] more ›

You damn well ought to be able to buy your smokes at Walgreen's if you can buy them at Safeway, says Justice William McGuiness of the First Appelate District Court. The court ruled 3-0 yesterday that San Francisco's citywide ban on cigarette sales at drugstores was "flimsy on its face" given that they do not extend the ban to grocery stores that have pharmacies. more ›

Anyone who thinks SF isn't tough enough on violent crime, listen up: Silas Byers, 44, was convicted of first-degree murder on Tuesday in San Francisco court for the June 2009 slaying of Douglas Johnson. more ›

Remember the story of Dopey Debbie the Coke Whore whose shenanigans may have cost the SFPD like a hundred drug convictions? Well, prosecutors in the case of Dennis Cyrus — a former member of the Page Street gang who stands accused of killing three dudes and some dozen other counts of drug conspiracy and racketeering — say that Debbie's bad behavior probably won't threaten their case. more ›

by Amy Crocker The San Francisco Appeals court has ruled that "Under God" is not a prayer when used in the Pledge of Allegiance. In 2002, the court declared that the phrase was unconstitutional. The new 2-1 ruling from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals states it is a "recognition of our founders' political philosophy that a power greater than the government gives the people their inalienable rights [...] Thus, the pledge is an endorsement of our form of government, not of religion or any particular sect." more ›

ABC 7 News spoke to one anonymous witness who says he watched, for twenty minutes, the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at a homecoming dance two weeks ago -- he says he was too scared to call for help or say anything because of who several of the perpetrators were. They also spoke to Salvador Rodriguez, who was held, questioned, and released in the case and who claims he tried to help the naked victim after the incident was over, and covered her up with her t-shirt. more ›

Not sure if any of you caught this story in the Weekly this week, but just in case you didn't, and just in case you have kids, make sure to train them in the fine art of screaming as a molester deterrent. more ›