In May 2025, the Public Defender’s Office alerted the Court that we would be declaring unavailable one day per week in misdemeanor cases and select felony matters. This decision reflected the fact that our caseloads far exceeded those of our peers in the Bay Area as well as prevailing caseload standards from the American Bar Association. Even with taking this step, our caseloads have not decreased to a manageable level.
The Public Defender’s Office takes seriously our constitutional duty to provide effective representation to indigent persons facing criminal charges in San Francisco. That is why we are also duty bound to decline new cases when—due to understaffing and underfunding by the City—accepting new cases will compromise the quality of representation we can provide to our existing clients.
San Francisco public defenders continue to take on the vast majority of new cases and continue to face overwhelming caseloads. This is despite the fact that the District Attorney has increased filings by nearly 60% over the past three years. Many of those cases represent misdemeanor ‘quality-of-life’ charges against people suffering from poverty and substance use disorder who would be better served not by the carceral system, but by public health and housing services.
The statement above is in response to San Francisco Superior Court’s announcement on 10/21/25: Temporary Change to Criminal Case Processes | Superior Court of California | County of San Francisco
FOR REFERENCE:
There has been a massive increase in the number of cases filed by the District Attorney’s Office, which has contributed to our public defenders carrying high caseloads that exceed standards issued by the American Bar Association.
The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office remains underfunded compared to other agencies in the criminal legal system.
These graphs were part of our 2025 budget presentation to the City.