Supervisors hear San Francisco district attorney's plea to protect prosecutors as caseloads and state mandates rise

City Hall — San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told the Board of Supervisors' Budget and Appropriations Committee on May 7 that her office is operating near capacity and faces rising caseloads, unfunded state mandates and a potential $5.4 million cut that she said would force the office to reduce prosecutions.

The hearing, convened by Supervisor Connie Chan and led by Vice Chair Supervisor Matt Dorsey, examined staffing levels, recruitment and retention challenges, the district attorney’s capacity to implement last year’s Proposition 36, and other resource gaps in the DA’s office. Jenkins and the public defender testified and more than three dozen members of the public, business groups and advocacy organizations offered testimony during the public-comment period.

Jenkins said the office is carrying roughly 7,100 pending cases and that staffing and nonpersonnel shortfalls have increased the time it takes to resolve cases. “These cases have become increasingly lingering in our system for much longer periods of time,” Jenkins said, and reported median lengths to disposition of about 591 days for felonies and 574 days for misdemeanors.

Why it matters: The DA’s office prosecutes crimes that affect victims, the city’s commerce and neighborhood safety; reductions in staff or litigation resources, Jenkins warned, would force the office to decide which categories of cases it can no longer pursue and would reduce the office’s ability to prepare cases for trial or respond to court-mandated motions.

What the DA presented

Jenkins outlined the office’s proposed budgets for fiscal years 2025–26 and 2026–27 and the drivers of recent increases. The office’s proposed budget for 2025–26 was presented as about $96.5 million and the following year about $99 million; the general fund supplies roughly 91% of the department’s revenue, she said.

Staffing and vacancies: Jenkins said the office has 324 budgeted positions, 317 of them filled and 19 vacancies. She reported 147…