"We cannot allow the representation of our clients to suffer. And if we take on more cases, that's going to happen,"
"They do not have the legal right not to represent the clients that they're appointed to represent. And the court should still be appointing them to these cases,"
"This is an attempt by the public defender to weaponize the court system in order to put the mayor's back against the wall to get what he wants that he didn't receive during the budget period,"
San Francisco's Public Defender's office has warned for months that staffing is insufficient to handle an increasing caseload. In May the office stopped accepting new cases several days a week to catch up and partnered with private attorneys for assistance. Despite outside counsel, the office reports reaching capacity, which could result in charged individuals being released while awaiting trial. The Sheriff's Office and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins criticized the decision; Jenkins said the office lacks legal authority to decline appointed cases and called the move political. The Public Defender's office accused the District Attorney's Office of contributing to the overload by filing many frivolous charges.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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