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San Francisco Public Defender Limits Case Intake as Budget Crisis Deepens

District Attorney’s funding request advances while Public Defender's office suspends weekly intake due to record caseloads and resource shortages.

Public Defender Mano Raju at his office in San Francisco on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
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Overview

  • Mayor Daniel Lurie’s directive for 15% budget cuts to close a $1 billion deficit has intensified strains on San Francisco's criminal justice system.
  • District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’s request for a $4.5 million budget increase has moved forward to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration.
  • The Public Defender’s office has begun suspending new case intake one day per week, citing a 40% rise in felony arrests and a 27% increase in misdemeanors.
  • Both offices highlight surging caseloads, with the DA’s office managing over 7,000 pending cases and the Public Defender’s attorneys working unpaid overtime.
  • The funding disparity between the DA and Public Defender offices, as well as differing operational burdens, has fueled tensions over resource allocation.