 In 1974, Robert Nicco was appointed Public Defender and subsequently elected, after having served as Chief Attorney under Mancuso.Under Nicco, Fred Smith served as the office's first African-American Chief Attorney from 1974-1979, and the office hired Manoucher Farzan, who was the first Persian-American attorney in the United States.In 1978, Geoffrey F. Brown was elected Public Defender of San Francisco and was re-elected five times.