The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office’s declaration of unavailability for new felony cases is being discussed in public hearings, with the central question being whether the office is legally and ethically unable to accept new cases or if capacity remains for continued appointments.
The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office argued that it does not have the capacity to take on additional felony cases due to excessive caseloads, and warned that any court order compelling it to do so would undermine supervision and risk constitutional violations.
San Francisco’s Public Defender’s Office is operating in the “red zone” due to an overextended workload, and Chief Assistant Public Defender Hadi Razzaq argues that the system cannot continue to accept new felony cases without abandoning existing clients or violating the Constitution.
The crisis over San Francisco’s overwhelmed public defense system has intensified as the court held its seventh hearing before Judge Dorfman to address the ongoing “unavailability” of the Public Defender’s Office, resulting in a backlog of unresolved cases and a lack of communication between justice partners.
The Everyday Injustice Podcast discusses a new statewide study revealing that California dramatically underfunds its public defense system, resulting in an imbalance of 77% more spent on prosecution than defense, and calls for a shift in narrative and investment in public defense to create a more equitable justice system.
The Criminal Justice Act (CJA) program ran out of money on July 3, 2025, leaving thousands of court-appointed attorneys and their support staff unpaid and threatening the constitutional right to effective counsel and the federal court system.
California has allocated over $1 billion to bolster prosecution efforts, while only $150 million has been directed to indigent defense, creating an uneven playing field and undermining the constitutional promise of equal justice.
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