"In May, after public defenders began declaring themselves "unavailable" to defend new cases one day a week, those clients were absorbed by the attorneys with the bar. Their caseloads are now mounting. Private defense attorneys took on nearly half of all felony cases in October on top of their regular conflict cases, Traun said. While the bar was working with the public defender's office, the "goalpost" of how many cases private attorneys would have to cover "kept moving.""
"Now, private defense attorneys say they have become a de facto satellite office of the public defender, and are themselves at capacity. "Every day, we scramble to see who can come in and cover," said Julie Traun, director of court programs for the Bar Association of San Francisco, on Wednesday. Traun addressed the issue at a hearing before San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman's courtroom at the Hall of Justice."
San Francisco's public defender's office lacks enough lawyers to handle an influx of criminal cases under District Attorney Brooke Jenkins's prosecutions. Private defense attorneys have become a de facto satellite public defender and report reaching capacity. The Bar Association of San Francisco scrambled daily to cover cases and absorbed clients after public defenders declared themselves unavailable one day each week. Private attorneys handled nearly half of felony cases in October in addition to regular conflict appointments. District Attorney Jenkins increased misdemeanor prosecutions, citing low-level crime. A judge invited stakeholders to discuss the workload crisis and may consider ordering recruitment or other remedies.
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