Meet Jean
Veteran Prosecutor.
A Record of Service to our Community.
Jean Myungjin Roland is a veteran prosecutor who serves as an Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office. Jean has served more than 22 years as a prosecutor, both as a trial lawyer and as a Managing Attorney. She is the daughter of Asian immigrants and grew up in San Francisco. She remains deeply committed to serving victims with fairness and equality, no matter their background. As a Judge, Jean will seek to ensure public safety while bringing needed balance and accountability back to our justice system.
A Story of Immigration
Jean Myungjin Roland was born in South Korea. When she was one year old, her parents came to the United States to seek a better life and economic opportunity for their children. They left Korea with very little and arrived in a country where they spoke no English in pursuit of the American Dream. Her parents worked long hours during the day and took English classes at night, leaving their children with willing neighbors. Soon, Jean’s grandparents joined them in America to help raise two very young children so her parents could focus on building a new life. After years of hard work, they managed to buy a home in the Sunset district in San Francisco. Her grandparents stayed in America to help raise Jean and her brother while her parents continued to work long hours. The family owned and operated small stores in Union Square, the Richmond district, and Japantown. They never gave up on their American Dream and worked tirelessly for over 30 years to give their children the best they could afford, hoping that one day their children could have more.
San Francisco Roots
Jean attended West Portal Lutheran School, Lowell High School, UC Berkeley and Boston University School of Law. She grew up translating for her family and serving as a voice for her community. Throughout middle school and high school, she spent much of her time after school and on weekends working in her family’s business, a small luggage and gifts store near Union Square – helping customers, restocking, and running errands. In college, when her parents opened a second small store in Japantown, Jean spent her summers and winter breaks helping on the sales floor. Before law school, her parents had closed both stores and opened one last small storefront in the Richmond district to help with living costs. Despite sacrifices and struggles, Jean’s parents continued to work hard still believing in a better future for their children and holding onto that American Dream in the city. Jean and her husband have two children and they attend local San Francisco schools.
Commitment to Serving Victims
During her college years, Jean’s family was the subject of a home invasion robbery. Three masked men entered the house while her grandparents were home alone. Her grandfather was hit with the butt of the gun multiple times to the head causing unconsciousness. The assailants dragged her grandmother down the stairs and tied her to her husband, whom she thought was dead laying in a pool of his own blood. After the assailants left, her grandfather regained consciousness, managed to untie himself, and looked for a phone. When Jean received a call about the robbery, she drove home from Berkeley. When she arrived at the house, there were police, ambulance, and blood everywhere. Communication was hard. Jean spent her time translating for her family and processing her own trauma at the same time. It was then that Jean understood she wanted to be a voice for victims of crime.
A Lifetime of Public Service
After graduating from Boston University School of Law in 2000, Jean became a prosecutor in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in 2001. She started in the Misdemeanor Unit and then spent the next seven years working her way through the office as a trial attorney prosecuting cases in Domestic Violence, Preliminary Hearing Unit, General Litigation, and the Gang Violence Unit. She was moved into a management role in 2008, starting as the Assistant Managing Attorney for the Misdemeanor Unit, where she reviewed hundreds of cases preparing for trial.
In 2009, she was moved to manage Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse, and Stalking Units, where she led efforts to advocate for these vulnerable victim populations. She was instrumental in expanding the Domestic Violence Unit, adding additional specialized prosecutors, paralegals, dedicated investigators, and dedicated victim advocates. She created, organized and facilitated the first collaborative Stalking Summit, bringing together law enforcement and community agencies to educate on stalking issues.
In 2013, Jean was responsible for the operation of the Juvenile Division and worked collaboratively with all Juvenile Justice Partners. Through her leadership, the DA’s office worked with community agencies to develop a new program to assist system-involved youths and partnered with neighboring DA offices to convene the first Bay Area Juvenile Supervisor’s Committee to discuss best practices.
In 2021, as Managing Attorney for the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault and Child Abduction Unit, Jean worked closely with the San Francisco Police Department Special Victims Unit (SVU) to ensure accountability for child abuse victims and sex crimes against children and adults.
In her current role as Managing Attorney of the General Felony Trial Unit, she continues to work on the drug crisis and collaborates with many different agencies to help combat narcotics crimes in San Francisco.
Focused on Public Safety, Balance and Accountability
Judges must seek to balance public safety, system accountability and compassion in the courtroom. In her prosecution career, Jean has reviewed thousands of cases. She has had to make tough decisions throughout her career, whether to charge or discharge a case, proceed or dismiss at trial. Every decision was made by weighing the evidence and with careful consideration of everyone involved. Jean has been a dedicated public servant to San Francisco for almost 23 years. Jean’s depth of experience, seasoned knowledge of the challenges facing our city and sense of compassion prepares her well to lead as a Judge.