Founded in 1974, the Queen’s Bench Foundation was established by eight members of Queen's Bench Bar Association of the San Francisco Bay Area. Colloquially referred to as "the Foundation," we are a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide education, research, and dissemination of information regarding the defense of human and civil rights secured by the law.

The first product of the Queen’s Bench Foundation was the publication of a 125-page book published in 1976 entitled Rape: Prevention and Resistance, based on research funded by a grant from the United States Department of Justice. The hallmark publication was cited by the California Supreme Court in People v. Barnes (1986) 42 Cal.3d 284, leading to the elimination of the requirement that obtaining a rape conviction in the State of California required a showing that a victim resisted a perpetrator. The Foundation recently memorialized the historic milestones of the Foundation and Queen's Bench's advocacy initiatives in the Centennial Oral History Project, a documentary released in 2022 and now available on YouTube.

Today, the Foundation continues to engage in projects that support the defense of human and civil rights, particularly for children. Recent projects include the award-winning Juvenile Hall Justice Project and volunteer work with the now-closed San Francisco Women's Jail.

Our current flagship project is the Color of Justice, a community-based education program inviting local high school students with demonstrated need to meet judges, attorneys, and legal professionals to learn more about pathways to legal careers. 

The Foundation also invites sister organizations to partner with us on initiatives to promote human and civil rights. Community partners may contact the Foundation at foundation@queensbench.org.