S.F. controller to inspect rise in criminal cases that's left courts overwhelmed

"District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has prosecuted more misdemeanor cases in her three years in office, and the public defender's office has been subsequently pushed to a "breaking point," Public Defender Raju said. Public defenders in May they began declaring themselves "unavailable" for new criminal cases one day a week. In a letter that month, Chief Attorney Matt Gonzalez with the public defender's office wrote that the office had seen 200 more cases than usual during the first four months of this year."

"The court system is feeling the burden. It's "facing an unprecedented number of misdemeanor cases, most of which must be brought to trial within 45 days," said a San Francisco Superior Court statement."

"Jenkins, for her part, described the public defender's unavailability as a "dereliction of duty" the court was "complicit" in for releasing "felons" instead of appointing the public defender take them on. It's not just public defenders who say they are overwhelmed. To meet demand, private defense attorneys with the San Francisco Bar Association had been taking cases that would have been assigned to public defenders. But this week, the Bar said it can no longer accept new clients."

San Francisco is experiencing a steep rise in misdemeanor cases that has strained the public defender's office and the court system. The district attorney has prosecuted more misdemeanors in recent years, contributing to the increased caseload and pushing the public defender's office toward a breaking point. Public defenders began declaring themselves unavailable one day per week, and the office reported roughly 200 additional cases in early months. Courts report an unprecedented number of cases that must reach trial within 45 days. Private attorneys previously absorbed overflow but can no longer accept new clients. The mayor asked the controller to audit workloads to inform future staffing decisions.

Read at Mission Local