Senior Felony Attorney Stephen Rosen is the sage of the Office of the Public Defender, dispensing insights and wisdom gleaned during a career devoted to social justice. A long-time political activist, Rosen inspires new public defenders with his example of a life dedicated to the defense of the poor. He is driven by his faith in the adversarial system of law. It is his belief that a "good fight" between the prosecution and the defense will keep that system honed and will result in the fairest verdicts.

Rosen graduated from the University of Arizona and got his law degree from Golden Gate University. Before joining the public defender's office, he was chief counsel at Mission Community Legal Defense and worked for the Hunter's Point Community Defender, both community-based indigent defense organizations. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, who is a private investigator, and their three sons.