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Supervisors Warn Budget Must Solve Public Defender Workload Crisis as Jails Swell
Summary
Public defender office told the Budget & Appropriations Committee that felony workloads average about 75 cases per attorney—nearly double the level a recent national workload study found necessary—raising risks of delayed trials and prolonged pretrial detention; supervisors signaled they may oppose a budget that fails to address the shortfall.
San Francisco’s public defender office told the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Appropriation Committee on June 14 that its attorneys are carrying average felony caseloads of roughly 75 cases each—far above the approximately 40‑case workload a recent Rand workload study says is necessary to provide constitutionally adequate representation. The office warned that the strain is producing burnout, vacancies and a risk of declaring conflict or “unavailability,” which would transfer work to external conflict counsel and could prompt a supplemental budget request.
“The impact of that is clients waiting in jail…
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